A-Rod's Lawyer Blasts MLB For 'Despicable, Unethical' Investigation Into Biogenesis
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Major League Baseball's investigation into a shuttered Florida anti-aging clinic accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes is "despicable, unethical and potentially illegal," a lawyer representing Yankees star Alex Rodriguez told USA Today.
A-Rod has landed in the middle of baseball's firestorm surrounding Biogenesis and its operator, Anthony Bosch. He was first linked to the clinic in January, when the Miami New Times reported that Rodriguez's name or nicknames appeared multiple times in Biogenesis' records. Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun and Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli have also been tied to the clinic, among others. All have denied the allegations.
"One thing we know: that evidence is unreliable," A-Rod's attorney, David Cornwell, told USA Today. "They have tainted the evidence beyond the point that you can rely on it, from their own conduct. And it's because of this hysterical reaction to the concept (that players got PEDs from Bosch's clinic).
"It's absurd."
Bosch has agreed to cooperate with MLB's probe. The league promised to drop its lawsuit against Bosch, the New York Daily News reported earlier this month, adding the agreement includes "paying his legal bills, indemnifying him for any civil liability that arises from his cooperation and providing him with personal security." MLB also said it would "intervene" if the lawman comes knocking on Bosch's door, according to the paper.
A league executive told CBS News that Bosch could implicate up to 25 players, including some stars not currently connected to the scandal.
Cornwell called MLB's intel on Biogenesis "irreparably tainted."
"The conduct of Major League Baseball with the Tony Bosch investigation is despicable, unethical and potentially illegal. Paying for evidence. Offering to pay for evidence. Intimidating witnesses," said Cornwell, whose client list also includes Cervelli.
MLB has confirmed it has paid for Biogenesis documents, according to USA Today. Porter Fischer, a former investor and marketing guru at Biogenesis, told the Miami New Times that he was offered $125,000 by MLB for an affidavit.
"At the conclusion of this investigation we hope that there will be a full airing of what we have learned about what Mr. Cornwell and his clients have done, so that the public can decide who has behaved despicably, unethically and illegally," MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred told USA Today.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez's rehab from offseason hip surgery is going "fantastic," according to WFAN and CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman.
He may even be ready for rehab games after the All-Star break, Heyman reported.
"He may beat everyone back," a team source told Heyman, referring to captain Derek Jeter and the rest of the injured Yankees.
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