Chris Correa and his former team have been punished heavily for their role in a hacking scandal. But Correa still is putting up a fight.
Correa, a former St. Louis Cardinals executive, is serving a 46-month prison sentence for hacking the Houston Astros’ internal database to view proprietary information. Major League Baseball on Monday imposed harsh sanctions on the Cardinals for Correa’s actions, forcing them to forfeit their top two picks in the 2017 draft to the Astros and fining the club $2 million.
On Tuesday morning, Correa fired back.
Correa accused MLB commissioner Rob Manfred of being uncooperative during the league’s investigation. More surprisingly, he pointed the finger back at the Astros, claiming the only reason he hacked Houston’s database is because the Astros did it first, illegally accessing the Cardinals’ servers back in 2011.
Correa used a similar defense in court but was shot down by a judge, so his credibility obviously is in question. MLB also responded with its own statement Tuesday, refuting Correa’s claim that it wasn’t cooperative.
“On July 21, 2016, Mr. Correa was informed directly that he would be placed on the permanently ineligible list if he did not cooperate with the Department of Investigations,” the statement read in part, via NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk. “Mr. Correa not only steadfastly refused to answer any questions but also opposed the release of any documents by the government to the Office of the Commissioner.”
Correa currently is under permanent ban from baseball.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports Images
