Editor’s word: This story incorporates particulars of alleged home/intimate associate violence and rape.
On Monday, Dec. 27, Alexis Blackburn filed a civil grievance in Florida’s fifteenth Judicial Courtroom in opposition to former San Francisco Giants pitcher Sam Dyson, accusing him of battery, rape and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
Blackburn first publicly accused Dyson, her ex-boyfriend, of abuse in an Instagram publish in November 2019. An investigation by Katie Strang and Ken Rosenthal for The Athletic discovered substantial supporting proof for Blackburn’s accusations and paperwork a sample of reported abuse that spanned their six-year relationship. Main League Baseball started investigating whether or not Dyson had violated the league’s home violence coverage after Blackburn’s social media publish. MLB concluded that Dyson violated the coverage and suspended him for the 2021 season.
The newly filed civil grievance particulars further incidents of bodily and sexual abuse. The grievance says Dyson pointed a loaded gun at Blackburn throughout an incident in February 2017 and bodily assaulted and raped her in 2019. The grievance additionally claims Dyson emotionally abused her, together with refusing to assist her communicate with a psychological well being skilled.
The grievance additionally says Dyson known as different MLB gamers a “multitude of racist names,” together with reportedly calling Black gamers the N-word and referring to Latino gamers as “poor Mexicans.”
Dyson’s agent didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The San Francisco Giants acquired Dyson from the Texas Rangers in June of 2017. He spent the subsequent two years with the crew earlier than he was traded to the Minnesota Twins on the 2019 MLB commerce deadline. Quickly after the commerce, Dyson underwent shoulder surgical procedure and the Twins non-tendered him following the season, making him a free agent. He has not signed with one other group since. The date on most of the incidents within the grievance occurred whereas Dyson was underneath contract with the Giants, however the grievance doesn’t point out every other members of the Giants group.
Robert C. Buschel of the Buschel Gibbons Regulation Agency in Fort Lauderdale is representing Blackburn and launched an announcement alongside the submitting: “Alexis Blackburn hopes this lawsuit will assist all ladies who’re in an abusive relationship. She hopes it supplies the liberty to flee abusive relationships and calls on all skilled sports activities’ leagues take to note and to take quantum steps to eradicate the acceptance of home violence and sexual violence in sports activities.”
Buschel added, “Mr. Dyson has not accepted duty for his habits, thus he has pressured this matter to be tried and confirmed in entrance of a jury. … We have now little question that the findings of the jury will likely be equivalent to that of Main League Baseball and that Mr. Dyson will likely be held to account for his violent actions in opposition to Ms. Blackburn.”
