Earlier this month, a three-person independent arbitration panel reduced Major League Baseball (MLB) player Alex Rodriguez’s 211 game suspension over his alleged involvement with performance enhancing drugs to 162 games. In response, the third baseman filed a federal lawsuit against both the MLB and the Player’s Union seeking to have his suspension overturned. According to Rodriguez, the lead arbitrator was biased in favor of the MLB, the arbitral decision had no legal basis, and the Player’s Union failed to properly defend him.
In general, arbitration decisions are tough to overturn. Still, if Rodriguez can demonstrate the process was fundamentally unfair or the arbitrators were somehow biased, he has a shot. If, however, Rodriguez is unsuccessful in his efforts to overturn the panel’s decision, he will reportedly be required to sit out the entire 2014 MLB season and lose about $25 million in compensation.
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