Clemens suit alleges bouncer beat him
Blue Jays prospect Kacy Clemens and a fellow minor-leaguer have filed a lawsuit against a bar in Houston after they claim they were severely beaten by a bouncer on New Year’s Eve.
Clemens, son of former Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens, suffered bruising and swelling while his friend, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Conner Capel, suffered a fractured skull after allegedly being hit on the head with a flashlight during an incident at the Concrete Cowboy.
The lawsuit, filed in Harris County, Texas, seeks compensation between $200,000 and $1 million U.S. from 34th S&S, LLC, the bar’s parent company, citing potential emotional and mental anguish as well as personal disfigurement.
Nicholas Estrada-Johnson, a bouncer at the Concrete Cowboy named in the lawsuit, was arrested by Houston police and charged with assault on the night of the incident.
A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
Randy Sorells, attorney with the law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz based in Houston, says Clemens and Capel are recovering from their injuries and will report to spring training in February.
“(Capel) is a professional athlete so he went through the protocol and procedures to get back on the field, but he will have to see a neurologist once a year for the next five years, to be tested and make sure everything is all right,” Sorells said Thursday.
Sorrels, though, said the damage to Clemens’ throwing arm remains a concern. “It’s difficult to tell what is going on just yet … it was very swollen,” Sorrels said. “Baseball players rely on and worry about velocity and accuracy and Kacy has not tested that yet.”
According to the lawsuit, the two players entered the Concrete Cowboy and as they approached the bar they were asked to move to another location by a bouncer. They complied, “but apparently not to the liking of the Concrete Cowboy bouncer.”
The situation quickly escalated, without provocation, the lawsuit claims, to the point where other bouncers and staff joined the altercation. It also states that neither Clemens nor Capel had purchased or consumed alcohol while at the establishment, and that police called to the scene found no evidence either person was intoxicated.
Another patron at the bar on New Year’s Eve was also hospitalized after an incident with bouncers, according to the lawsuit, which also cites several other online posts describing incidents with bouncers at the bar.
“The bar was overcrowded (on the night of the incident),” Sorrels alleged in an interview with the Star, adding that officials with the Concrete Cowboy maintained there was no video footage of the incident.
None of the allegations in the claim have been proven in court. Calls and emails to Concrete Cowboy requesting comment were not returned.
The lawsuit states the defendants have 50 days from Wednesday to provide a statement of defence.
Clemens, a first baseman, was selected by Toronto in the eighth round in 2017.
He split last year between Class-A Lansing and High-A Dunedin, hitting a combined .231 with 12 homers and 65 RBIs.
“It’s an unfortunate incident,” Gil Kim, the Jays’ director of player development, “but our trust and support are in Kacy and the legal teams in this matter.”