Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer is under a temporary restraining order after a woman accused him of sexual assault, and he was recently placed on administrative leave by MLB while the league begins an investigation. The allegations are also being investigated by by the Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department.
One of Bauer's agents, Jon Fetterolf, recently issued a statement to ESPN's Jeff Passan, in which he asserted that the relationship between Bauer and the accuser was "wholly consensual" and that "any allegations that the pair's encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Given the alarming nature of the accusations and Bauer's prominence -- he won the NL Cy Young award last season and signed a free agent contract with the Dodgers this past offseason that will pay him a record $40 million for this season -- reactions to the news have been abundant.
Among those is that of Dave Stewart, a former All-Star pitcher who began his 16-year MLB career with the Dodgers. Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently asked Stewart for his thoughts on the Bauer allegations. In part, Stewart criticized the Dodgers for not taking action before MLB announced the administrative leave decision:
The organization isn't what it was when we came through. The Dodgers organization that I grew up in under the O'Malley family would never stand for that. The Dodgers should have stepped up in that situation, and they didn't. You've got to have character standards.
...
The Dodgers let MLB enforce the leave of absence, but in my opinion, you don't need to wait for MLB to tell you what to do. Why are you putting your hands on a woman that way? He tries to say it was consensual, but what kind of person would ever do that?
More from Stewart:
I know they owe him a lot of money, but the right thing is to distance yourself from that guy. I don't want him in my clubhouse. If you're a teammate, you can't support him. And if you're a teammate supporting him, what are you standing for?
If it wasn't for his contract, he'd be gone. But even with the money they owe him, you can't allow him to perform for you and act like nothing happened. You just can't.
Nightengale's discussion with Stewart includes more, including the former pitcher's thoughts on the current direction of the Dodgers and the response he said he received when he informed the team he would not be attending a July 25 reunion of the 1981 World Series-winning team, of which he was a member.
As for Bauer, The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang reported details of the woman's encounters with him, which she says were initially consensual. "I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next. I did not agree to be sexually assaulted," the woman said. The Athletic's report, which includes graphic details from the restraining order, including allegations that Bauer strangled and punched the woman, can be found here.
A hearing on a full restraining order is scheduled for July 23 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
