Major League Baseball placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on seven-day administrative leave on Friday, days after a woman accused him of sexual assault. Bauer has 24 hours to appeal the MLB’s decision, putting his scheduled Sunday start in jeopardy.
MLB announces that it has placed Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on seven-day administrative leave. Says its investigation is ongoing.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 2, 2021
According to ESPN, MLB will have the ability to request an extension of seven days with the consent of the MLB Players Association, which would keep Bauer off the mound through the All-Star break.
Major League Baseball issued a statement on Friday:
MLB’s investigation into the allegations made against Trevor Bauer is ongoing. While no determination in the case has been made, we have made the decision to place Mr. Bauer on seven-day administrative leave effective immediately. MLB continues to collect information in our ongoing investigation concurrent with the Pasadena Police Department’s active criminal investigation. We will comment further at the appropriate time.
A woman filed a domestic violence restraining order against the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner in June.
Bauer is accused of assaulting the woman on two separate occasions. According to The Athletic, the woman alleges that during two sexual encounters, Bauer punched her in the face, vagina, and buttocks, and strangled her until she was unconscious multiple times.
During the second encounter with Bauer, the woman reportedly suffered two black eyes, bloodied swollen lips, and bruising and scratching to one side of her face.
“I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next,” the woman says. “I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.”
Bauer has denied the allegations, claiming that the sexual encounters were consensual and that the woman “repeatedly asked for ‘rough’ sexual encounters.”
Bauer’s representation put out a statement:
Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021. We have messages that show [the woman] repeatedly asking for “rough” sexual encounters involving requests to be “choked out” and slapped in the face. In both of their encounters, [the woman] drove from San Diego to Mr. Bauer’s residence in Pasadena, Calif. where she went on to dictate what she wanted from him sexually and he did what was asked. Following each of her only two meetings with Mr. Bauer, [the woman] spent the night and left without incident, continuing to message Mr. Bauer with friendly and flirtatious banter. In the days following their second and final encounter, [the woman] shared photos of herself and indicated that she had sought medical care for a concussion. Mr. Bauer responded with concern and confusion, and [the woman] was neither angry nor accusatory.
Bauer and the woman met on Instagram and, after exchanging messages, the woman says she drove from San Diego to Los Angeles to meet Bauer. During the first encounter, the woman alleges the two had consensual sex, but she lost consciousness after Bauer wrapped her hair around her neck, choking her.
“I woke up face down on the bed, disoriented. I began realizing that he was having sex with me in my anus, which I never communicated that I wanted, nor did I consent,” the woman said according to The Athletic.
According to the report, the two met again on May 15, 2021 where they had a second sexual encounter. The woman claims that Bauer again choked her until she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, Bauer was punching her in the head.
“This was the first punch I felt but it is very possible that Trevor had already been punching and scratching the right side of my face while I was unconscious.,” the woman said. “Trevor then punched me hard with a closed fist to the left side of my jaw, the left side of my head, and both cheekbones. I remember this vividly and it was extremely startling and painful. I was absolutely frozen and terrified. I could not speak or move. After punching me several times, he then flipped me back onto my stomach and began choking me with hair. I lost consciousness again.”
Bauer is scheduled for a hearing on July 23.