MLB probe clears Mariners of discriminatory behavior

A claim accusing the Seattle Mariners front office of discriminatory acts and disparaging comments was determined to be unfounded Wednesday by a Major League Baseball independent investigation. Accusations of inappropriate behavior were made by former Mariners director of high performance Lorena Martin, who claimed that "senior club officials made derogatory and inappropriate comments," a release from MLB stated.

According to that same release Wednesday, an investigation conducted by the law firm Epstein Becker Green, which specializes in labor and employment matters, revealed they "did not uncover credible evidence that the Mariners, or any of its employees, violated Major League Baseball's Code of Conduct." After Martin was fired following the 2018 season, she filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the team. In November, she alleged via social media that general manager Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay and manager Scott Servais all had made disparaging comments regarding Latino players. The Mariners immediately denied all claims.

"I've been at this for 30 years. I know a lot of people in the game," Dipoto said last month, in regard to the accusations. "I'm not a sexist, nor am I a racist. The accusations that have been made are untrue. I believe that will wash out as this unfolds. I can only speak for myself. The responsibility for this development of the program and hiring Dr. Martin to come here, it's on me. I take full responsibility for it." Major League Baseball said that "because of the ongoing litigation," it will have no further comment on the subject.

Martin has alleged that as far back as March of last year, she went to team owners John Stanton and Buck Ferguson to complain about alleged discriminatory treatment. In a response to the lawsuit by Martin, the Mariners said in a December 2018 filing in King County Superior Court that she had been fired following the 2018 season because she was ignoring the medical advice on the treatment of injured players and that she had made claims that she was a medical doctor to other MLB teams.

--Field Level Media

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