No evidence to support allegations against Mariners: MLB

SEATTLE (AP) — Major League Baseball’s independent investigation found no credible evidence to support claims of disparaging comments and discriminatory treatment by members of the Seattle Mariners front office.

MLB said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation found the Mariners did not violate baseball’s “workplace code of conduct, or applicable anti-discrimination law,” in the treatment of Lorena Martin or in her termination by the club. Martin was the club’s director of high performance for one season, then was fired following the 2018 season.

The investigation also concluded there was no evidence to support Martin’s claims that general manager Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay and manager Scott Servais made disparaging comments against Latino players. The Mariners have denied Martin’s claims.

Martin has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the team. MLB said it will have no further comment regarding the investigation due to the pending litigation.

The investigation was conducted by Epstein Becker Green, a law firm specializing in labour and employment matters. MLB said the firm’s lawyers interviewed 17 potential witnesses, including Martin.

Martin took to social media on Wednesday in response to the MLB investigation, saying she is “disappointed but not surprised at the outcome.” In her statement, Martin said she was interviewed by Jennifer Gefsky, a former MLB deputy general counsel who is now an Epstein Becker partner.

“It is also puzzling why the interviews and information obtained is being kept confidential. I would have hoped for a bit more transparency,” Martin wrote. “More importantly, there were no tapes, no emails, no hard evidence requested nor evaluated other than the questioning of individuals most of whom are still employed by the Mariners.”

Martin was hired away from the Los Angeles Lakers with much fanfare by Dipoto. Her first public allegations came in November when she posted on social media claims that Dipoto, McKay and Servais had called Latino players “lazy, dumb and stupid.”