Alex Rodriguez really is on his own.
Rodriguez sued both Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association in federal court on Monday in an attempt to get his 162-game suspension overturned. A-Rod’s decision to file the lawsuit isn’t all that surprising, but the shots the New York Yankees third baseman took at the players’ union upset some, including MLBPA director Tony Clark.
Rodriguez claims the players’ union failed to fairly represent him during MLB’s investigation into the slugger’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. A-Rod says in the lawsuit that the MLBPA failed to intervene to stop the leaking of “prejudicial information” by MLB, and that the union provided only perfunctory help during his actual arbitration hearing. Rodriguez even criticized former MLBPA director Michael Weiner, who died of a brain tumor in November, saying that several comments made by Weiner over the summer “corrupted the arbitration process” by prejudging guilt.
“It is unfortunate that Alex Rodriguez has chosen to sue the Players Association. His claim is completely without merit, and we will aggressively defend ourselves and our members from these baseless charges,” Clark said Monday in a statement. “The Players Association has vigorously defended Mr. Rodriguez’s rights throughout the Biogenesis investigation, and indeed throughout his career. Mr. Rodriguez’s allegation that the association has failed to fairly represent him is outrageous, and his gratuitous attacks on our former executive director, Michael Weiner, are inexcusable. When all is said and done, I am confident the Players Association will prevail.”
Rodriguez, who is slated to miss the entire 2014 season, will lose more than $25 million in salary from the Yankees if his suspension is upheld.
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