Alex Rodriguez withdraws lawsuits, accepts suspension

Rodriguez had previously been seeking to overturn his 162-game suspension on appeal.

By Alex Hall Feb 7, 2014, 4:56pm EST

New York Yankees star third baseman Alex Rodriguez has voluntarily dismissed two cases in court: the lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Player's Union seeking to overturn his 162-game suspension, and the separate "witch hunt" lawsuit against commissioner Bud Selig and MLB. Both dismissals were reported by Jim Baumbach of Newsday Sports.

After arbiter Fredric Horowitz reduced A-Rod's proposed suspension from 211 games to 162, the player filed a suit seeking to overturn the suspension based in part on its unprecedented length. However, Baumbach reports that Friday was the deadline for Rodriguez's camp to respond to the league's request to toss the case, and that Rodriguez has opted to voluntarily dismiss it.

By dropping the lawsuit, Rodriguez has ended his pursuit to reduce or eliminate his suspension, reports Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal. He will sit out the entire 2014 season, as well as the playoffs if his team qualifies, due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal. A-Rod's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, also announced that Rodriguez will not attend spring training, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN.

Major League Baseball confirmed in a press release that the legal action from Rodriguez was at an end:

"We have been informed that Alex Rodriguez has reached the prudent decision to end all of the litigation related to the Biogenesis matter. We believe that Mr. Rodriguez’s actions show his desire to return the focus to the play of our great game on the field and to all of the positive attributes and actions of his fellow Major League Players. We share that desire."

The Players Association said in its own release, "Alex Rodriguez has done the right thing by withdrawing his lawsuit. His decision to move forward is in everyone's best interest."

Rodriguez also dropped his "witch hunt" lawsuit against Selig, which contested that the commissioner had made a special effort to target Rodriguez and force him out of the sport due to his high-profile transgressions.