Former Dodgers pitcher Dave Stewart unloaded on LA’s handling of the Trevor Bauer allegations and won’t attend a World Series anniversary in protest.
Former Dodgers pitcher Dave Stewart is furious over the team’s handling of the Trevor Bauer sexual assault allegations.
In an interview with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the World Series winner ripped into the organization for taking a passive stance on Bauer when the horrifying allegations surfaced.
“The organization isn’t what it was when we came through,’’ Stewart said. “The Dodgers organization that I grew up in under the O’Malley family would never stand for that. The Dodgers should have stepped up in that situation, and they didn’t. You’ve got to have character standards.”
Dave Stewart can’t believe the Dodgers handling of Trevor Bauer
Stewart couldn’t understand why Los Angeles sat back and let MLB take the lead in suspending Bauer. Before MLB put the pitcher on seven-day paid administrative leave, the Dodgers were all set to let Bauer start as planned on Sunday. Manager Dave Roberts said the decision was “out of our hands.”
For Stewart, that wasn’t the correct response.
“The Dodgers let MLB enforce the leave of absence,’’ Stewart said. “In my opinion, you don’t need to wait for MLB to tell you what to do. Why are you putting your hands on a woman that way? He tries to say it was consensual, but what kind of person would ever do that?”
Stewart went as far as to back out of a 40th World Series anniversary scheduled for July 25. He was a relief pitcher on the 1981 Dodgers World Series team.
When he told the team he wouldn’t attend, he says he got a response saying, “The team and the Players Associations support the player until he’s guilty.”
That only angered Stewart more.
“HE BROKE THE UNWRITTEN RULE ON HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT WOMEN!” he wrote in reply.