As an outfielder, Yasiel Puig remains unsigned and hopes to return to the Major leagues, the allegations of sexual assault previously filed against him, this off-season continues to cloud his market. Both Andy McCullough of The Athletic and John Barr of ESPN have analyzed the situation and the allegations in depth this week. McCullough spoke to Rachel Luba, Puig’s agent, and Barr interviewed both the alleged victim and her brother.
Luba declined to comment on the ongoing trial when The Athletic asked him to, but chose to focus on the outfielder’s baseball resume and desire to return to the game. No police complaints or criminal charges have been filed against Puig, although he is the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by his prosecutor.
Barr’s report is the first indication that the league has investigated the matter, although a full investigation has yet to be conducted. As Barr points out, the league has informed the plaintiff and her attorney that further investigation would not be possible because she has not yet provided her name.
She tells Barr that she prefers to keep her identity out of public coverage of the case because she runs a business in the Los Angeles area where she works with other professional athletes. In the lawsuit against Puig and her interview with Barr, she is referred to only as “Jane Roe”.
The alleged incident, which allegedly occurred when Puig followed the woman to the bathroom during a 2018 Lakers match, is detailed in linked reports from ESPN and The Athletic.
Barr notes that the court documents also included a series of text messages from Puig to his prosecutor in the days following the Lakers match in question, in which Puig tried to arrange a private meeting between the two. The woman tells Barr that she can’t remember when she gave Puig her number, but that for business reasons it wouldn’t have been unusual to do so.
McCullough and colleagues Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang point out that Puig’s side has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, on the assumption that the publicity of the lawsuit, while remaining anonymous, is simply saying “ Mr. in court of public opinion, for Mr. Puig. even has the ability to defend itself ”.
The prosecution’s attorney describes that motion as a “thinly disguised attempt by Defendant Puig to humiliate, harass and punish his client” and pressure the woman to drop the charges.
At this point, there is no indication when a judge will rule on the suit or motion to dismiss, although Barr writes that the lawsuit itself is enough to deter many clubs from showing a legitimate interest in Puig.
Puig, 30, was a lightning rod to the controversy even before these allegations surfaced in November, and a front office manager tells Barr teams just don’t want “the headache” that comes with signing it.
Puig has been arrested twice in the past for reckless driving and has occasionally been disciplined by the team for being late on the field, although Luba claims this was due to an undiagnosed case of ADHD that is now being reported treated.
Antillean Puig has not played in a Major League game since the end of the 2019 season, because a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves failed last winter when Puig tested positive for Covid-19.