Alex Rodriguez arrives at Major League Baseball headquarters in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013.
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez left a grievance hearing at Major League Baseball’s New York office in a huff Wednesday, after an arbitration officer ruled that baseball commissioner Bud Selig did not have to testify for the player’s attorneys.
“This is ridiculous!” Rodriguez reportedly said. He’s also reported to have slammed hand on the table and cursed at MLB’s chief operating officer before walking out of the room, ESPN reports.
Rodriguez is appealing a 211-game suspension handed down in August over his alleged involvement in a company accused of being a source for illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez issued the following statement to the media after the hearing: “I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails,” he said. “I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process. This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players’ association refused to order Selig to come in and face me.”
[ESPN]