Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer suing Deadspin for defamation in coverage of sexual assault allegations

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, who was accused of sexual assault last spring, sued sports news site Deadspin Thursday on charges of defamation, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Deadspin “knowingly published false information” in news about the alleged sexual assault, Bauer claimed in the suit.

Bauer added that Deadspin “capitalized on a false accusation” that he had fractured the skull of a woman claiming sexual assault against him.

In fact, the woman suffered from an acute head injury rather than a skull fracture, but Bauer said Deadspin “pushed forward with the false narrative of a skull fracture” while other news outlets corrected initial reports after receiving further medical information.

Deadspin did later correct its claim that Bauer “allegedly cracked a woman’s skull,” clarifying that a CT scan failed to find acute fracture on the woman’s skull, although Bauer says that the correction was “wholly inadequate” and not publicized enough.

The article was “the culmination of a campaign to maliciously target and harass Mr. Bauer,” said the lawsuit.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney chose not to charge Bauer with any crime in February, after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied the woman accusing him a permanent restraining order in August.

Bauer was put on administrative leave from the Dodgers last summer when the sexual assault accusations were first made.

It is possible that Bauer could be suspended by Major League Baseball in the future due to domestic violence and sexual assault policies.