The New York Yankees‘ appeal to keep a letter sealed from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to general manager Brian Cashman, which allegedly documents the team’s sign-stealing scheme, was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees, filed the appeal on April 1 in the hopes that the court would overturn its initial ruling, which allowed the letter to be unsealed on March 21. Following the rejection on Thursday, the letter must be made public within the next two weeks.
“We’re disappointed in the Court of Appeals decision, but we respect it,” declared Levine to the New York Post. “However, we think it will lead to very bad results down the road,” he added in his statement.
The Yankees’ case was based on the notion that releasing the letter would tarnish the team’s reputation from a previous lawsuit in which it was not involved.
What does the letter say?
In March, daily fantasy sports players filed a $5 million lawsuit against MLB and the Red Sox, alleging that Manfred withheld information about MLB’s 2017 investigation into Apple Watches being used to steal signs from the public.
The commissioner sent the Yankees a letter with additional information about the league’s findings.
According to the letter, the Yankees used a dugout phone improperly in a season prior to 2017, and some players positioned themselves in the team’s replay room in order to steal opponents’ signs and relay that information to runners on second base.
MLB previously stated that it “clarified the rules going forward to expressly prohibit such conduct” in response to the Yankees’ conduct in this matter.
Marca
