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Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, shown here in 2021 when he was with the Cleveland Indians. | Photo courtesy of Erik Drost/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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Trevor Bauer filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against the San Diego woman who he claims falsely accused him of sexual misconduct, which led to widespread news reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher had fractured her skull during a sexual encounter.
Bauer contends the woman pursued bogus criminal and civil actions against him, made “false and malicious” statements, and generated “a media blitz” based on her allegations, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.
The suit also names the woman’s attorney, Fred Thiagarajah, for his alleged efforts to help the woman “destroy Mr. Bauer’s reputation and baseball career, garner attention for herself, and extract millions of dollars” from Bauer, the lawsuit says.
A message seeking comment sent to Thiagarajah after regular business hours was not immediately answered.
The lawsuit claims that although a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge rejected the woman’s assault allegations and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office found the accusations “unworthy of criminal charges, the damage to Mr. Bauer has been extreme.”
Attorneys for Bauer allege that the woman and Bauer met in person twice at his home in Pasadena for the purpose of having sex.
“During their first sexual encounter, after discussing (the woman’s) sexual preferences, they engaged in consensual rough sex,” according to the suit.
The complaint contends that after their first sexual encounter, the woman continued to pursue Bauer, “so she could have rough sex with him again, but this time, she told Mr. Bauer she wanted a rougher sexual experience. Unbeknownst to Mr. Bauer, who believed (the woman) was just expressing her sexual preferences, (her) goal was to lure Mr. Bauer into having a rougher sexual experience so she could later claim this sexual experience was not what she requested and thereby lay the groundwork for a financial settlement.”
Bauer alleges that to implement her plan, the woman “unequivocally” told him that she was interested in engaging in even rougher sex on a second occasion, “communicating in explicit detail the sexual experience she desired,” the suit says.
“During their second sexual encounter, the two again engaged in consensual rough sex that involved the rough sexual acts that (she) requested,” the lawsuit alleges.
Two days later, the woman filed a false police report in which she accused Bauer of sexually assaulting her and engaging in sexual activities without her consent, the lawsuit alleges.
The story quickly became fodder for the news media.
In a separate lawsuit, Bauer is suing a sports website and one of its former writers, alleging in Los Angeles federal court that he was defamed when they reported he had fractured the woman’s skull during a sexual encounter.
Bauer accused The Athletic and former staff writer Molly Knight of “creating and spreading the false narrative” of the supposed attack, according to the March 30 complaint for defamation.
The alleged victim obtained a temporary restraining order against Bauer last June, but two months later, a judge denied the woman’s request for a five-year extension of the order, saying evidence shows Bauer never went beyond boundaries the accuser herself had set for the sexual encounters.
In February, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner after investigating the woman’s allegations that he physically assaulted her during a pair of sexual encounters.
The Athletic reported last June that “there were signs of a basilar skull fracture,” citing a declaration by the woman, according to the lawsuit.
Bauer, 31, contends in the suit that CT scan results included in medical records attached to the woman’s declaration — which The Athletic possessed — “definitively concluded that she had ‘no acute fracture.”‘
Athletic representative Taylor Patterson said: “We’re confident in our reporting and plan to defend against the claim.”
Bauer previously filed a defamation lawsuit in New York against the sports news website Deadspin and its managing editor, claiming the outlet “knowingly published false information” regarding the assault allegations.
The complaint said that Deadspin had cited The Athletic in reporting that Bauer had fractured the skull of the woman, but The Athletic had corrected its story before Deadspin posted its report.
Bauer was placed on administrative leave by the Dodgers at the beginning of July. He still faces possible discipline from Major League Baseball, and his future with the Dodgers remains cloudy.
Bauer signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers in February 2020, worth $102 million, including $40 million this season, reported to be the highest single-season salary in baseball history.
