NEW YORK (AP) - A Major League Baseball Players Association lawyer says Alex Rodriguez wanted the union to pursue “extraordinary remedies” outside of arbitration to stop attempts to discipline the New York Yankees third baseman.
Attorney Daniel Engelstein made the comment Wednesday as he urged that two Rodriguez lawsuits in Manhattan federal court be combined into a single case. The court did not immediately decide.
Engelstein said Rodriguez accused the MLBPA of acting arbitrarily “by not complying with Mr. Rodriguez’s demands that the union pursue extraordinary remedies outside of the arbitration process to ’stand up’ to MLB and to stop it from acting in a manner Mr. Rodriguez characterized as improper.”
Rodriguez sued the Major League Baseball and the union on Monday in an effort to overturn an arbitrator’s decision last weekend suspending the three-time AL MVP for the 2014 season and postseason for violations of the sport’s drug agreement and labor contract. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz found Rodriguez used three banned substances each year from 2010 to 2012 and made two attempts to obstruct MLB’s investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic.
In October, Rodriguez sued the league and Selig, saying he had been the target of a “witch hunt” by baseball and Selig.
Rodriguez attorney Jordan Siev said in papers filed Wednesday that the cases should remain separate because each action involves different facts and there is no risk of inconsistent rulings or conflicting orders.
MLB lawyer Howard Ganz in papers of his own urging consolidation of the lawsuits said there was substantial factual overlap and the same or substantially similar parties, property, transactions and events. MLB removed the October suit to federal court and filed a motion to dismiss it, and Rodriguez filed a motion to remand it back to New York State Supreme Court. Both motions are pending.
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