Alex Rodriguez Suspension, Sterioids & Biogenesis Update: MLB Continues Feud With A-Rod Lawyer
The drama surrounding Alex Rodriguez and Major League Baseball is still alive and well.
The 38-year-old Yankees third baseman is appealing a 211-game suspension handed down by the league, and the process has not been pretty. One of A-Rod's attorneys, Joe Tacopina, is in the middle of a public feud with MLB executives as both sides have failed to come to a consensus.
This week, Rodriguez's camp blamed MLB and the Yankees for deliberately hiding injury information from him in last year's playoffs. Tacopina told the New York Times that the team "rolled Rodriguez out there like an invalid" with hopes that he would suffer a career-ending injury.
The comments from A-Rod's attorney to the press are becoming more frequent; Tacopina released a statement Monday regarding a separate situation in which MLB asked Rodriguez's camp to publicize information such as drug tests, documents, and more. Both Tacopina and MLB have made accusations of breaching the confidentiality clause.
"The letter was nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt," Tacopina said. "The letter that was addressed to my law office with the words 'Via Hand Delivery' on top was in fact never delivered to my office but was instead given to the 'Today' show, which in and of itself is yet another violation of the confidentiality clause of the JDA."
On the contrary, MLB Vice President Rob Manfred wrote a letter to Tacopina on behalf of the league, saying, " . . . we believe that your public comments are already in breach of the confidentiality provisions of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."
Rodriguez has played in 14 games this year while he awaits the verdict on the appeal for his suspension, which is not expected until after the season. He has two home runs and six RBI.