Bobby Burack: Media smeared Trevor Bauer. And now has little to say
From OutKick's Bobby Burack
In 2021, a woman named Lindsey Hill accused then-star pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault and strangulation. Bauer adamantly denied the allegations.
The Dodgers placed Bauer on administrative leave three days later and released him in 2023. He has not pitched in MLB since the reporting of Hill’s accusations.
On Monday, Bauer and Hill dropped their civil suits against one another. Hours later, Bauer posted a video where he read aloud text messages between the accuser and her friends, one in which she discusses a plan to frame another "victim."
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Trevor Bauer #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers returns to the dugout after the top of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on June 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
This time: Bauer.
‘Next victim. Star pitcher for the Dodgers,'" Bauer said in the video. "A text Lindsey Hill sent to a friend before she ever even met me. ‘What should I steal?’ she asked another, in reference to visiting my house for the first time. The answer? ‘Take his money.’ So how might that work? ‘I’m going to his house Wednesday.’ she said, ‘I already have my hooks in. you know how I roll.’ Then, after the first time we met, "Net worth is 51 mil" she said. ‘b—h, you better secure the bag’, was the response.
"But how was she going to do that? ‘Need daddy to choke me out,’ she said. ‘being an absolute whore to try to get in on his 51 million,’ read another text. Then, after the second time we met, former [San Diego] Padres pitcher Jacob Nix told her ‘you gotta get this bag.’ ‘I’ll give you 50,000’ Lindsey replied. Her AA sponsor asked her at one point, ‘do you feel a tiny bit guilty?’ ‘Not really,’ she replied."
That woman ruined his life. She jeopardized his career.
And so did the media.
Ken Rosenthal is among the most influential baseball writers in the industry. He now writes for The Athletic. Each organization reads what it has to say. And his stance on the matter was clear: Bauer should be out of the league over the unproven allegations.
"Dodgers’ decision to cut ties with Trevor Bauer shouldn’t have been difficult at all," Rosenthal headlined a column last January criticizing the team for not releasing Bauer sooner.
What did Rosenthal write this week after Bauer publicized the accuser’s damning text messages?
Nothing. He didn’t write anything.
The top baseball writer provided neither a news story nor an opinion one of the rare baseball stories that transcends beyond sports.
Yokohama DeNA BayStars pitcher Trevor Bauer delivers a pitch against Hiroshima Carp during a baseball game in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. After cheerleaders welcomed him, after receiving the largest ovation of any Yokohama player at the start of the game, Bauer delivered what was expected on Wednesday in his debut with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. (Kyodo News via AP)
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In fact, Rosenthal’s only acknowledgment of the update came by way of a repost (formerly known as a retweet) of an Athletic article citing the settlement.
However, the article he shared failed to mention the text messages in which the accuser admits to framing Bauer.
Rosenthal and The Atheltic didn’t bury the lede. They neglected to report the lede. And they had no comment when contacted by OutKick Tuesday afternoon.
About the same can be said about ESPN. Its article Monday referenced Bauer’s video but excluded the part where Hill acknowledged her plan to make Bauer her "next victim."
Per ESPN, "Bauer, 32, subsequently released a near-four-minute video on YouTube alleging that Hill’s legal team approached him "multiple times" about a financial settlement that his side consistently declined. Bauer said in the video that the defamation lawsuit allowed his legal team to uncover additional cell phone material that was "deliberately and unlawfully concealed" from his lawyers, most notably a video of the woman "lying in bed next to me while I’m sleeping, smirking at the camera without a care in the world — or any mark on her face" on the morning after the second alleged incident."
The article also failed to hyperlink to Bauer’s video, which would’ve directed readers to the full context of his commentary.
Elsewhere, Sarah Spain sent out several tweets calling for Bauer to be suspended in 2021.
"Looking at the case’s details, the extensive police report and graphic photos, there’s more than enough reason Bauer shouldn’t be on the mound Sunday," posted Spain.
Spain has yet to find the time to comment on the text messages. And given her decreased airtime at ESPN, we know it’s not because of a lack of free time.
Trevor Bauer #27 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on after giving up a hit to Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 12, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
She and Rosenthal are just a few of many who vocalized their disgust over the allegations but not the facts.
The sports media was quick to convict Bauer in the court of public opinion, to declare the woman’s claims adequate enough for the Dodgers to release Bauer.
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Such coverage was irresponsible and dishonest. And, in the case of reporter Molly Knight, scandalous.
According to a lawsuit Bauer filed against The Athletic — which he dropped as the outlet was not technically at fault — Knight tweeted while employed at the outlet that Bauer fractured Hill’s skull. Though here’s the catch: per the suit, Knight had in her possession medical records that showed there was no fracture.
Knight deleted the tweet as part of the agreement. However, the impact of her post proved significant. Specifically, Deadspin used Knight’s tweet to publish the type of filth it did below:
And that is why "throw the book" and "allegations" should never appear in the same sentence.
Of course, the remains of Deadspin failed to retract that article this week. The outlet instead posted a quick-hitting, poorly-written news story titled "Trevor Bauer, sexual assault accuser settle lawsuits."
That article didn’t include Hill’s texts either.
By all accounts, Lindsey Hill pimped herself out for financial exploitation. The press enabled her to do so with its sheepish coverage that mostly assumed Bauer’s guilt.
Journalists didn’t cover the allegations like journalists. Journalists covered the allegations like character assassins.
Together, they cost Bauer two years in MLB. They bestowed years of public disdain upon him. Even the truth cannot return those years to Bauer.
Let that be a warning the next time the media similarly rules someone guilty on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations (like they are doing with Russel Brand).
Trevor Bauer, left, listens to a reporter's question after a warm-up game in Hiratsuka, southwest of Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Bauer on Saturday pitched his second game against minor-league competition as he prepares for his debut with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)
Perhaps legal analyst Lexie Rigden provided the best assessment of the Bauer case, expressing how the #MeToo movement’s catchline "believe all women" was both simplistic and naive.
"Many, if not most, victims who come forward are legitimate. But some simply aren’t, as in the case of Trevor Bauer," said Rigden on OutKick Tuesday.
"This accuser (Lindsey Hill) lied. She lied so badly, the defamation case was settled with no money paid (per TB he was not in it for $) and not even an NDA in her favor."
Correct.
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Trevor Bauer ought to make you wonder how many other men have had their lives ruined by women and media outlets who so grossly took advantage of the prevailing narrative that women never lie.
Women do lie. And men often bear the consequences of those lies.
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