New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez filed a lawsuit on Monday against MLB and the Players Association. Below are five things to know about Rodriguez's complaint and about the evidence arbitrator Fredric Horowitz used to justify giving Rodriguez a 162-game suspension.
1. Rodriguez's attorneys filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court after Horowitz handed down a 162-game ban on Saturday. The lawsuit, which lists MLB and the Players Association as defendants, alleges Horowitz was biased and imposed the suspension without any evidence to justify it, according to ESPN.
The lawsuit also contends Horowitz disregarded the Joint Drug Agreement (JDA), which stipulates a 50-game suspension for first-time offenders, by suspending Rodriguez for 162 games.
2. Horowitz ruled Rodriguez committed three distinct violations of the JDA by using the banned substances IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor), human growth hormone and testosterone.
"Rodriguez'[s] obstruction of MLB's investigation (and) the prolonged time period ... with which he used or possessed the three Prohibited Substances," Horowitz wrote in his opinion of what factored into his ruling, according to ESPN. "... While the length of the suspension may be unprecedented for a MLB player, so is the misconduct he committed."
Horowitz considered the testimony of Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, documents obtained from Biogenesis and text messages to be enough evidence to justify the suspension.
3. The lawsuit also lists the MLB Players Association as a defendant because the union failed its "duty of fair representation."
Rodriguez hopes a U.S. federal court will overturn Horowitz's ruling because of the lack of evidence. Attorneys for the Yankee star contend Bosch is a liar whose testimony would never hold up in a court of law, and they consider the rest of MLB's evidence to be circumstantial.
The goal of the lawsuit is to overturn the ban so Rodriguez can return to baseball.
