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| Alex Rodriguez arrives at Major League Baseball headquarters in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Rodriguez's grievance hearing to overturn his 211-game suspension resumed Monday with the first of what could be 10 straight days of sessions. |
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez benched himself at his own grievance hearing.
The
New York Yankees star walked out in the middle of a session Wednesday,
furious arbitrator Fredric Horowitz refused to order baseball
Commissioner Bud Selig to testify. The move, followed by angry
statements accusing Selig of bias and the entire arbitration process of
flaws, appeared to be a prelude to a lawsuit challenging whatever ruling
Horowitz makes on A-Rod's 211-game suspension.
Horowitz
was in the midst of the third week of hearings on the grievance filed
by the players' association to overturn the penalty given to the
three-time AL MVP by Major League Baseball in August for alleged
violations of the sport's drug agreement and labor contract.
"I
lost my mind. I banged a table and kicked a briefcase and slammed out
of the room," Rodriguez said during a 40-minute interview on WFAN radio.
"I probably overreacted, but it came from the heart."
Rodriguez
has not testified in the grievance and said he had been warned that
repeating his denials of wrongdoing on the stand could result in
attempts at additional discipline by MLB.
MLB
argued that it could decide what witnesses it wanted to present to
justify the discipline, since the penalty must meet a "just cause"
standard. The league said Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred spoke to
reasoning behind the discipline during his six hours of testimony.
Rodriguez
and the union asked Horowitz to compel Selig to testify. After the
arbitrator refused, Rodriguez uttered a profanity at Manfred just before
leaving the hearing room at MLB's office, two people familiar with the
proceedings said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because what
takes place at the hearing is supposed to be confidential.
"In
the entire history of the Joint Drug Agreement, the commissioner has
not testified in a single case," the commissioner's office said in a
statement. "Major League Baseball has the burden of proof in this
matter. MLB selected Rob Manfred as its witness to explain the penalty
imposed in this case. Mr. Rodriguez and the players' Association have no
right to dictate how baseball's case is to proceed any more than
baseball has the right to dictate how their case proceeds. Today's
antics are an obvious attempt to justify Mr. Rodriguez's continuing
refusal to testify under oath."
The hearing
continued for about two hours after Rodriguez left the room, one of the
people said, and it is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.
"We
have put on evidence. We have more evidence to put on. We are
evaluating our options," said James McCarroll, a lawyer for Rodriguez
who also spoke during the WFAN interview. "We haven't said the case
isn't being completed. We haven't said that the case isn't complete."
Horowitz,
chosen by management and the union as their independent arbitrator last
year, has the discretion to eliminate the suspension or alter it. The
statements by Rodriguez and McCarroll made it appear the 14-time
All-Star intends to sue MLB and the union unless the penalty is
eliminated.
Rodriguez already has filed one
suit against MLB and Selig, accusing them of a "witch hunt," and another
against the Yankees team physician and his hospital, alleging
malpractice in the diagnosis and treatment of a hip injury.
Manfred
is technically part of a three-person arbitration panel that also
includes union General Counsel David Prouty and is chaired by Horowitz.
"I'm done. I don't have a chance," Rodriguez said during the WFAN interview.
He issued a statement earlier in the day attacking the procedures established in the agreements between MLB and the union.
"I
am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the
player fails," Rodriguez said. "I have sat through 10 days of testimony
by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to
respect the league and the process.
"This
morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his
rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit
me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players' association
refused to order Selig to come in and face me. The absurdity and
injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate
any further in this farce."
The players' association was disappointed with Horowitz's decision but was less confrontational than Rodriguez.
"The
MLBPA believes that every player has the right under our arbitration
process to directly confront his accuser," the union said in a
statement. "We argued strenuously to the arbitrator in Alex's case that
the commissioner should be required to appear and testify. While we
respectfully disagree with the arbitrator's ruling, we will abide by it
as we continue to vigorously challenge Alex's suspension within the
context of this hearing."
McCarroll blamed Horowitz for precluding evidence Rodriguez wanted to introduce and hinted of a court fight.
"Whether
the case is finally decided in this forum, created by Major League
Baseball, Bud Selig's forum, or another forum, nobody is throwing the
case out," he said.
Rodriguez denied using
performance-enhancing drugs or obstructing MLB's investigation into the
Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. Rodriguez was the only one of
the 14 players disciplined this summer to challenge his suspension.
"Over
time, the arbitration process in baseball has been amazingly pro
player," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said. "It was that process which
created free agency. It allowed Steve Howe to remain on the field
despite numerous drug violations and resulted in the shortening of
suspensions like John Rocker's. The notion that this same process is not
fair enough or good enough for Alex Rodriguez is ridiculous."
Rodriguez
said he had hoped to testify Friday. MLB had insisted Rodriguez submit
to an "investigatory interview" prior to his testimony, but he canceled
his scheduled appearance last week, claiming illness. MLB agreed to
waive its right to penalize him for testimony during an interview it
might deem untruthful, one of the people said.
"The
system is wrong, and whether you're in federal court or state court or
in kangaroo court that we are today, players need protection," Rodriguez
said on WFAN. "The union has already told me that if I go on on Friday
and they think I lied, they can give me say another 100 games, so now
you're to 311. So now we'll appeal that. In the appeal process, I would
say I didn't do it, so now you're up to 411, and this can go on for the
next seven or eight years."
He repeatedly
disparaged Selig, who has been in charge of baseball since 1992 and said
in September he plans to retire in January 2015. Rodriguez said Selig
wants him as "a trophy" to put "in his big mantel on his way out."
"My
only message to the commissioner is, I know you don't like New York,
but come to New York and face the music. He hates my guts, there's no
question about it," Rodriguez said. "One hundred percent it's personal,
and I think this is about his legacy, and it's about my legacy, and he's
trying to destroy me."
Rodriguez said four years ago he used PEDs while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. He has denied using them since.
He briefly discussed his relationship with Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch, who is cooperating with MLB's investigation.
"It
was nutrition and it was weight loss," Rodriguez said. "And Bosch
wasn't the only guy. I traveled the world to see doctors, cutting-edge
stuff, but always between the parameters of Major League Baseball. And I
have hundreds of e-mails that will be part of evidence which I can't
get into that backs me up 100 percent."
