MLB suspends Trevor Bauer for 2 years with no pay

[ThePrideofShiner]

This popped up last night, first being reported by TMZ. The Athletic has a ton of detail on the allegations as related in the restraining order and it is horrifying. The woman alleges consensual sex quickly turned into choking, punching, scratching, sodomy and more. Bauer said the woman asked him to do those things to him.

Story here: https://theathletic.com/2682479/2021/06/30/graphic-details-photos-emerge-in-restraining-order-filed-against-dodgers-pitcher-trevor-bauer/?source=emp_shared_article

The alleged assaults described by the woman, which are extremely graphic in nature, happened during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between the two. According to the woman’s declaration attached to the request and obtained by The Athletic, she suffered injuries as a result of the second encounter, including two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face. In the woman’s declaration, signed under penalty of perjury of California state laws, she said that her medical notes state that she had “significant head and facial trauma” and that there were signs of basilar skull fracture.

She also said that, in one of those incidents, while unconscious, Bauer penetrated her anally, which she did not consent to in advance.

“I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next,” she says. “I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.”

Pasadena Police are investigating potential criminal charges. MLB is investigating as well. I'd imagine some sort of suspension is surely coming.

 

[mauidano]

Albeit horrifying, I think I'll wait until I pass judgment. Two sides to every story and he'll get a chance to share the evidence backing his claims. That being said; WTF was he thinking? Hooking up on some kind of App when you are rich and famous is asking for trouble. What an idiot.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

Albeit horrifying, I think I'll wait until I pass judgment. Two sides to every story and he'll get a chance to share the evidence backing his claims. That being said; WTF was he thinking? Hooking up on some kind of App when you are rich and famous is asking for trouble. What an idiot.

If that is your kink, I imagine an app is one of very few outlets to find like minded people.

 

[nighthob]

If that's your kink you should probably avoid being famous.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

Will he bring his own handcuffs when he's arrested?

 

[mikeford]

If that's your kink you should probably avoid being famous.

or you have enough money to get people to sign waivers

 

[Mystic Merlin]

or you have enough money to get people to sign waivers

This dog would not hunt.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Will he bring his own handcuffs when he's arrested?

This is good

 

[Max Power]

He'll be the best pitcher in the California Penal League since Ricky Vaughn.

 

[Bergs]

Pretty sticky situation here.

 

[Doc Zero]

Pretty sticky situation here.

Can we maybe not?

 

[CaptainLaddie]

or you have enough money to get people to sign waivers

Infamously, Eminem and his crew would have groupies not just sign waivers, but also do it on video. Kinda gross, but also kinda what they had to do considering Marshall's fame and notoriety.

 

[nighthob]

Infamously, Eminem and his crew would have groupies not just sign waivers, but also do it on video. Kinda gross, but also kinda what they had to do considering Marshall's fame and notoriety.

You would hope that the rich and famous would know that no good can ever come from indulging their ugliest desires in the days of 24 hour news coverage and just fucking behave themselves. I mean even if Bauer’s story were true (which I highly doubt) he’s fucked just for participating.

 

[Marciano490]

Infamously, Eminem and his crew would have groupies not just sign waivers, but also do it on video. Kinda gross, but also kinda what they had to do considering Marshall's fame and notoriety.

Dude did write Superman...

You would hope that the rich and famous would know that no good can ever come from indulging their ugliest desires in the days of 24 hour news coverage and just fucking behave themselves. I mean even if Bauer’s story were true (which I highly doubt) he’s fucked just for participating.

This seems puritanical and a bit like victim-blaming. There’s no problem with consenting adults doing adult things. Your post seems to imply that women would bring fake claims.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

Dude did write Superman...




This seems puritanical and a bit like victim-blaming. There’s no problem with consenting adults doing adult things. Your post seems to imply that women would bring fake claims.

It reminds me of the news that broke the morning of (or morning before?) SB42, with Randy Moss having engaged in "consensual horseplay".

Kink-shaming is bad. If Bauer did do those things without her consent, that's a huge fuckin problem. If he did them, and then after she got cold feet... well, that's different.

Still, my instinct is to always believe women in these situations, mostly because it's so rare that they're lying.

 

[nighthob]

This seems puritanical and a bit like victim-blaming. There’s no problem with consenting adults doing adult things. Your post seems to imply that women would bring fake claims.

This is so incoherent I don’t even know where to start. I’m pretty sure that saying that Bauer’s story is BS isn’t blaming the victim unless you think that Bauer’s the victim.

And there’s no problem with consenting adults doing whatever the fuck they want. But when you’re a celebrity you’re going to be held to the extremely puritanical standards of modern American culture. You want fame and fortune? Fine, the price is that you’re going to live in a fishbowl and when the stories of your consenting adult behavior go public you’re fucked. And that has nothing to do with Bauer’s bullshit as I was explicitly commenting on Laddie’s Eminem story.

 

[scottyno]

This is so incoherent I don’t even know where to start. I’m pretty sure that saying that Bauer’s story is BS isn’t blaming the victim unless you think that Bauer’s the victim.

And there’s no problem with consenting adults doing whatever the fuck they want. But when you’re a celebrity you’re going to be held to the extremely puritanical standards of modern American culture. You want fame and fortune? Fine, the price is that you’re going to live in a fishbowl and when the stories of your consenting adult behavior go public you’re fucked. And that has nothing to do with Bauer’s bullshit as I was explicitly commenting on Laddie’s Eminem story.

Assuming Bauer's story is legit (not saying it is, but we don't know), how exactly is he "fucked"? I somehow doubt Trevor Bauer gives much of a fuck if a bunch of people on twitter care that he engages in rough sex. Teams aren't going to not sign him because of it. A large amount of the baseball world already hated him anyway.

 

[nighthob]

How many times do I have to say that I think Bauer’s story is bullshit before all you aspiring Sir Lancelots listen? Even in your unlikely scenario now everyone knows that Bauer gets off on beating women. That’s going to come with a price tag.

 

[Doc Zero]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “aspiring Sir Lancelots” ?

 

[Cesar Crespo]

How many times do I have to say that I think Bauer’s story is bullshit before all you aspiring Sir Lancelots listen? Even in your unlikely scenario now everyone knows that Bauer gets off on beating women. That’s going to come with a price tag.

And if he's doing it consensually, a shit load of people will not give a fuck. Marv Albert is around. People once cared, they care a lot less now.

 

[voidfunkt]

How many times do I have to say that I think Bauer’s story is bullshit before all you aspiring Sir Lancelots listen? Even in your unlikely scenario now everyone knows that Bauer gets off on beating women. That’s going to come with a price tag.

We wont know until this goes to court at this point and all the texts are discovered and both the woman and Bauer testify, but BDSM and consensually beating your sexual partner as some part of sadomasochistic play is fairly common and does not necessarily mean Trevor Bauer is abusive. Your jumping to judgement way too quickly.

 

[McDrew]

I work in criminal justice, so my viewpoint is probably a little different.

At this point, both sides appear to be taking it as seriously as possible.

1) If the claims are true, pursuing a protective order and civil and legal penalties is the right way to move forward. The victim is doing that.
2) If the claims are false, hiring representation and following their advice on how to respond to these claims is the right way to move forward. Bauer is doing that.

The claims appear to hinge (based on both sides statements) on what sexual acts were consented to.

Both sides are taking this seriously. To me, this means taking a step back and letting the process play out and respecting the results of that.

 

[amRadio]

Don't we have proof from the police department that he has already admitted to punching her while unconscious in a recorded phone call? Non-lawyer but I would have to imagine that acknowledgement already has him in murky legal waters.

 

[Rovin Romine]

I work in criminal justice, so my viewpoint is probably a little different.

At this point, both sides appear to be taking it as seriously as possible.

1) If the claims are true, pursuing a protective order and civil and legal penalties is the right way to move forward. The victim is doing that.
2) If the claims are false, hiring representation and following their advice on how to respond to these claims is the right way to move forward. Bauer is doing that.

The claims appear to hinge (based on both sides statements) on what sexual acts were consented to.

Both sides are taking this seriously. To me, this means taking a step back and letting the process play out and respecting the results of that.

Yep. (And thankfully we're at the point in our evolution as a society where our CJS now more-often-than-not takes these kind of claims seriously, instead of looking for a way to make them go away, or discouraging the victim.)

I didn't read the paywalled article, or have any sense of a timeline on this. While this could go either way or get more complicated, it's worth nothing the woman is claiming significant visible injuries. Those are either documented with extrinsic physical evidence (photos/video, etc.) or not.

If so, I'll just say it's hard for the average person to buy someone consenting to two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face. . .“significant head and facial trauma” and that there were signs of basilar skull fracture.

 

[Rovin Romine]

Don't we have proof from the police department that he has already admitted to punching her while unconscious in a recorded phone call? Non-lawyer but I would have to imagine that acknowledgement already has him in murky legal waters.

I'm traveling, so I'd personally appreciate people linking to non-paywalled stuff and reported facts if they want to discuss. Always good for the thread too.

 

[voidfunkt]

I'm traveling, so I'd personally appreciate people linking to non-paywalled stuff and reported facts if they want to discuss. Always good for the thread too.

If your browser has "Reader Mode" this will generally bypass any paywalls. That's how I read it.

 

[Captaincoop]

You would hope that the rich and famous would know that no good can ever come from indulging their ugliest desires in the days of 24 hour news coverage and just fucking behave themselves. I mean even if Bauer’s story were true (which I highly doubt) he’s fucked just for participating.

Yeah, it really doesn't matter if his story is true or not. He's screwed. If you're a famous multimillionaire and a woman you met on a hookup app asks you to punch her in the face and scratch her during sex, and you're dumb enough to do it, you deserve to be screwed either way.

 

[amRadio]

I'm traveling, so I'd personally appreciate people linking to non-paywalled stuff and reported facts if they want to discuss. Always good for the thread too.

Sadly, it is paywalled. It is from the same article from which you got the "facial trauma and basilar fracture" quote. I just finished reading it and would be happy to put up excerpts but I don't know what is allowed by the rules here. The Athletic article seems to confirm that Bauer admitted to punching her while unconscious and that her injuries were documented and examined by medical professionals - and seem to be well beyond the realm of rough sex.

Other than that, not 100% sure I'm allowed to post here, but that article is definitely going to be the discussion today re: Bauer just about every where in sports media and maybe beyond.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

Yep. (And thankfully we're at the point in our evolution as a society where our CJS now more-often-than-not takes these kind of claims seriously, instead of looking for a way to make them go away, or discouraging the victim.)

I didn't read the paywalled article, or have any sense of a timeline on this. While this could go either way or get more complicated, it's worth nothing the woman is claiming significant visible injuries. Those are either documented with extrinsic physical evidence (photos/video, etc.) or not.

If so, I'll just say it's hard for the average person to buy someone consenting to two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face. . .“significant head and facial trauma” and that there were signs of basilar skull fracture.

Even if you are familiar with the whole BDSM scene, it's really hard to buy that she consented. I know a lot of woman who liked to be marked, bruised, choked, scratched, in places that can easily be covered up. They take pictures of said bruises and marks The face is pretty much always out of bounds unless it's a love slap. Punching someone in the face is deviant behavior to pretty much everyone.

edit: The whole sex while unconscious thing is definitely a kink for quite a few people though. They agree to it before hand. I'm not saying that's what happened here and I'm not sure if it matters legally or not if someone consented beforehand if they aren't capable of consenting at the time.

 

[Was (Not Wasdin)]

Dude did write Superman...


This seems puritanical and a bit like victim-blaming. There’s no problem with consenting adults doing adult things. Your post seems to imply that women would bring fake claims.

We wont know until this goes to court at this point and all the texts are discovered and both the woman and Bauer testify, but BDSM and consensually beating your sexual partner as some part of sadomasochistic play is fairly common and does not necessarily mean Trevor Bauer is abusive. Your jumping to judgement way too quickly.

The idea of "consent" is doing an awful lot of work here. If I find someone whose situation is desperate enough that they'll consent to me punching them so hard I break bones in their face because I paid their rent for the month, that's ok?

Regardless of the concept that consenting adults should be free to do what they want (which I'm generally on board with), there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. To paraphrase Potter Stewart on obscenity, I cant draw that line, but I know it when I see it. Regardless of consent, activity that results in "signs of a basilar skull fracture" crosses that line for me.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

I'm traveling, so I'd personally appreciate people linking to non-paywalled stuff and reported facts if they want to discuss. Always good for the thread too.

Here's a freely available version: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/us/trevor-bauer-restraining-order-details-spt/index.html

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

The idea of "consent" is doing an awful lot of work here. If I find someone whose situation is desperate enough that they'll consent to me punching them so hard I break bones in their face because I paid their rent for the month, that's ok?

Regardless of the concept that consenting adults should be free to do what they want (which I'm generally on board with), there is a line that shouldn't be crossed. To paraphrase Potter Stewart on obscenity, I cant draw that line, but I know it when I see it. Regardless of consent, activity that results in "signs of a basilar skull fracture" crosses that line for me.

Agree with this. When someone has "multiple pictures" where her face "is visibly bruised and swollen, including under both of her eyes [and] a swollen jaw, bloodied lip and scratches to the side of her face" it's hard to imagine what someone could do/say to consent to this.

Note that in the phone call between victim and Bauer that police heard, victim asked Bauer what he did to her when she was unconscious. Bauer admitted to punching her repeatedly in the "buttocks." The woman indicated that she did not consider the encounter a "free-for-all," and Bauer apparently changed the subject.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. I presume Bauer isn't going to go to jail over this but IMO he will likely end up pleading to something criminal.

 

[voidfunkt]

Agree with this. When someone has "multiple pictures" where her face "is visibly bruised and swollen, including under both of her eyes [and] a swollen jaw, bloodied lip and scratches to the side of her face" it's hard to imagine what someone could do/say to consent to this.

In retrospect, I agree with this... I have seen some pretty whacked out BDSM stuff (I have a friend that is a dominatrix and have been invited to watch and drink expensive scotch while she goes to work on her sub), but even some of the pretty extreme stuff I have seen it is always done in a way to hide that damage.

Plus there's always aftercare.

I really draw the line at the knocked her unconscious then sodomized her. You cannot consent if you're unconscious and the way all BDSM works is generally you're working under continued consent until a safe-word is spoken or the red-yellow system is used, neither of which can be invoked if you're lights out. Unconscious is by default non-consensual.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

It would be good to get RR's take on the actual law in this area because I imagine it's complicated.

There are some crimes where absence of consent is an actual element to the crime, like certain sexual assault crimes. In those cases "consent is a defense" in the sense that you have to prove there was no consent, but this does not mean that consent is necessarily a defense to certain types of other crimes. I assume that consent can be a defense to certain types of battery claims. Or it also may be a defense in the sense that the contact must be offensive for it to be battery. A classic example would be if you go in for a vaccination and you consent to it it's not a battery. Or you sign a waiver before boxing.

But I feel reasonably confident that there are limits. I could see the limits arising in a couple of ways. One would be that there are certain things for which consent is never going to be a defense. Another would be some legal principle that says that consent is very strictly limited in the case of serious batteries in that it will be construed to be extremely narrow and specific and that the defendant takes the risk of exceeding the scope of consent. I have no idea if either of these is the law but have a feeling as though there is probably a principle that is something like these things.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

It would be good to get RR's take on the actual law in this area because I imagine it's complicated.

There are some crimes where absence of consent is an actual element to the crime, like certain sexual assault crimes. In those cases "consent is a defense" in the sense that you have to prove there was no consent, but this does not mean that consent is necessarily a defense to certain types of other crimes. I assume that consent can be a defense to certain types of battery claims. Or it also may be a defense in the sense that the contact must be offensive for it to be battery. A classic example would be if you go in for a vaccination and you consent to it it's not a battery. Or you sign a waiver before boxing.

But I feel reasonably confident that there are limits. I could see the limits arising in a couple of ways. One would be that there are certain things for which consent is never going to be a defense. Another would be some legal principle that says that consent is very strictly limited in the case of serious batteries in that it will be construed to be extremely narrow and specific and that the defendant takes the risk of exceeding the scope of consent. I have no idea if either of these is the law but have a feeling as though there is probably a principle that is something like these things.

Apparently in CA, lack of consent is an essential element in proving battery: https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/docs/caci/1300/1302/.

Still, although I'm not a litigator, based on what we know now (which is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things but I'll say this anyway), I'd be shocked if any charges - whether straight battery or sexual assault as a matter of law based on lack of consent. And if the charges don't get thrown out, I'd assume that would become a question of fact for the fact-finder, and there's no way this is going to trial.

 

[Rovin Romine]

Well, it’s CA state law that applies. You’re likely talking battery, sexual battery, sexual assault, rape. Each state defines them slightly differently.

The final standard is beyond a reasonable doubt. Other, lower standards might apply for threshold issues. But rarely.

Unless there’s a Pre commitment in the form of a contract between the parties, I doubt it would be hard to convince a jury that anally raping an unconscious person Wasn’t consensual. Sometimes there is a public policy reason to disallow agreement to illegal acts. Like you can’t agree to cannibalism. Not sure of the facts here but something like that may also apply.

 

[nighthob]

Yeah, it really doesn't matter if his story is true or not. He's screwed. If you're a famous multimillionaire and a woman you met on a hookup app asks you to punch her in the face and scratch her during sex, and you're dumb enough to do it, you deserve to be screwed either way.

Yeah, he deserves everything he gets in this case. I've never liked Bauer so I have no troubles believing the worst of him. Fuck that douchebag.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

Yeah, it really doesn't matter if his story is true or not. He's screwed. If you're a famous multimillionaire and a woman you met on a hookup app asks you to punch her in the face and scratch her during sex, and you're dumb enough to do it, you deserve to be screwed either way.

Of course, he's very likely to say that he never punched her in the face and pictures don't prove that he did. I have a feeling he's going to get a slap on the wrist here because not only are they both saying she consented to a version of the events, she's saying that much of what happened to her was done while she was unconscious, which he can easily say he never knew was happening. And beyond that, she came back a second time and they continued to communicate while he tried to make sure she was recovering and okay...etc.

I'm going to do my best not to kink-shame here, because I think there's something to be said about this specific type of thing. However, this moron sounds like he genuinely doesn't think he hurt her against her will because it was all part of the act. And there are a lot of people who are very much into this sort of thing. As a quick example, a woman I went to school with has a public page where you can see her routinely being put in extremely painful positions and very often bloodied. This is a real thing and it absolutely can go as far as being punched in the face.

How does a court reconcile that against the normal standard of domestic violence cases? I don't know. It's a crazy situation.

 

[Deathofthebambino]

If your browser has "Reader Mode" this will generally bypass any paywalls. That's how I read it.

I'm going to need some step by step instructions on this "reader mode" thing you are talking about. I'm about as technologically literate as a mouse on acid, so I might even need a definition of "browser."

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Yeah, he deserves everything he gets in this case. I've never liked Bauer so I have no troubles believing the worst of him. Fuck that douchebag.

We get that you hate Bauer, and many others here feel the same way, but posts like this do nothing to contribute to the discussion in this thread.

 

[Doc Zero]

Roberts says Bauer is starting on Sunday. Interestingly, he says he's following MLB's lead on this.

View: https://twitter.com/FabianArdaya/status/1410694639712043011

 

[loshjott]

Roberts says Bauer is starting on Sunday. Interestingly, he says he's following MLB's lead on this.

View: https://twitter.com/FabianArdaya/status/1410694639712043011

That's Fourth of July at Nats Park. I'll be there booing heartily.

 

[bosockboy]

Roberts could absolutely sit him or leave him behind. Gutless response.

 

[ehaz]

That's Fourth of July at Nats Park. I'll be there booing heartily.

I'll be at The Bullpen doing the same

 

[AlNipper49]

Even if this entirely 100% consensual (and it probably wasn’t given the evidence in the table) I’m reasonably certain that Bauer did really think this one all of the way through. What a fucking dummy.

 

[Gash Prex]

Under no circumstances should he be pitching any time soon - Her injuries alone should be sufficient for mlb to step in. Certainly Robert’s should do the right thing.

it might be a more complicated case from a criminal perspective if there is some corroboration to his story but even then, it seems pretty clear it went far beyond “rough sex”

 

[bsj]

Incredibly disappointed in Roberts here.

 

[cornwalls@6]

Incredibly disappointed in Roberts here.

I'm really not. Nor I am surprised. His job his to field the best team he can, everyday. Until someone tells him Bauer is ineligible to be part of that, he's going to pitch him. As would, I suspect, the vast majority of other managers. To be clear, I highly doubt this was consensual, and think Bauer will, rightly, pay a big price for his reprehensible actions. But until law enforcement, or MLB, tells him otherwise, I cant really blame Roberts for continuing to play him. Managers are probably the last people who should be adjudicating these things either way. As an aside, MLB should probably have a version of the inactive/paid list the NFL has while these types of incidents are being investigated. Take it out of the teams hands completely.

 

[McDrew]

For reference, the 2018 agreement is the current rules for the broad category of abusive behavior by players. Important is III.C.2.a:

In certain cases, the Commissioner may decide that he is not in a position to impose discipline until the resolution of a criminal or legal proceeding, but that allowing the Player to play during the pendency of the criminal or legal proceeding would result in substantial and irreparable harm to either the Club or Major League Baseball. In such exceptional cases, the Commissioner may suspend the Player with pay pending resolution of the criminal or legal proceeding (or until the Commissioner determines that he has just cause to impose an unpaid, disciplinary suspension).

 

[cornwalls@6]

For reference, the 2018 agreement is the current rules for the broad category of abusive behavior by players. Important is III.C.2.a:

Thanks for that. This case would certainly seem to fit the criteria for such action by Manfred.