Report: MLB executive testified to paying $125k for Biogenesis documents
MLB COO Rob Manfred admitted to paying $125,000 for Biogenesis documents regarding A-Rod. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer of the MLB, admitted that he approved a $125,000 payment for Biogenesis documents, while Alex Rodriguez's camp may have also paid for the same papers, according to the New York Post.
Manfred made the admission Thursday, while being questioned as a part of Alex Rodriguez's appeal hearing for his 211 game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. The money was paid to former Biogenesis employee Gary Jones, who stole the documents from the companies founder, although Manfred maintains that MLB did not know the information was stolen at the time.
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When reached for comment about the payment by the Post, Manfred had this to say:
“The fact that this player and his attorneys think it’s appropriate to talk about what I testified about is not going to convince me that it’s OK to violate the Basic Agreement.”
Reports are conflicting over whether or not A-Rod paid for the documents and if he acquired them before or after MLB did. Rodriguez's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina denied the allegations:
“The notion that we paid any money for any Biogenesis documents is patently false, and anyone who is leaking this information knows it’s false.”
