The U.S. Federal Court has confirmed that Alex Rodriguez, player with Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Friday, 7-Feb to end litigation against MLB and its commissioner and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).
Rodriguez will immediately begin honouring his suspension handed down to him by U.S. arbitrator Frederic Horowitz, who ruled to suspend Rodriguez for the entire 2014 calendar year without his US$ 25 million salary for having been found in violation of MLB’s anti-doping policy.
Rodriguez’s legal team had initially filed their suit in U.S. District Court on 13-Jan in an attempt to overturn Horowitz’s ruling on the basis that Horowitz was not an impartial arbitrator.
MLB issued a statement upon learning Rodriguez’s decision to drop the lawsuit: “We believe that Mr. Rodriguez’s actions show his desire to return the focus to the play of our great game on the field and to all of the positive attributes and actions of his fellow Major League Players.”
The MLBPA also remarked on Rodriguez’s decision: “Alex Rodriguez has done the right thing by withdrawing his lawsuit. His decision to move forward is in everyone’s best interest.”
While Rodriguez has never failed a doping test, Horowitz’s January ruling to suspend Rodriguez pointed to two clear factors: Rodriguez’s “obstruction of MLB’s investigation” and “the prolonged time period…[in] which he used or possessed…prohibited substances”.
“While the length of the suspension may be unprecedented for an MLB player, so is the misconduct he committed,” Horowitz noted.
In a statement last month, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Sir Craig Reedie, who is also a member of International Olympic Committee’s executive board, welcomed Horowitz’s decision, which relied on “non-analytical methods”.
“The message from this case is clear – sport no longer relies solely on a positive test to bring those that wish to rob sport of its true values to account. This case proves that the sharing of evidence and intelligence can prove invaluable in keeping sport fair and clean for the vast majority,” President Reedie underlined.
Also last month following Horowitz’s decision, World Baseball Softball Confederation co-President Riccardo Fraccari expressed praise for MLB and the MLB Players Association for their efforts on supporting a drug-free environment for the athletes.
“The WBSC applauds the seriousness with which Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are playing their part to attack the global issue of doping by implementing some of the most wide-reaching and advanced anti-doping measures in all of professional sports, which serves to protect the clean athletes, promote ‘fair play’ and sustain the integrity of our game,” Fraccari said.
