Alex Rodriguez Suspension Reduced

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez got his day in court and finally a ruling has been reached.  Originally, Rodriguez was given a 211 game suspension for his connection to the Biogenesis clinic which supplied illegal performance enhancing drugs to athletes.  However, after further review the suspension was reduced to 162 games, one full season. Rodriguez was hoping to get the suspension completely thrown out and has vowed that he will not give up on his mission.  Shortly after it was announced, Rodrgiuez made a statement through his spokesperson Ron Berkowitz,

“The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. This is one man’s decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable. This injustice is MLB’s first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review.

I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court. I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension. No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players’ contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal.”

Rodriguez has been suspended 50 games in the past after admitting to PED use during his time with the Texas Rangers.  For that, he was suspended for 50 games.  Rodriguez’s camp says he is willing to take up to a 65 game suspension, which is what Brewers Ryan Braun received.   The Yankees owe the third baseman $25 million this season and $61 million from 2015-17, further showing how long contracts can go very wrong.