Jenrry Mejia is not taking his suspension lying down

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A little over a month ago, Jenrry Mejia became the talk of the baseball world after becoming the first player in league history to be banned for life due to failing his third PED test. Arguably even more amazing is the fact that all three failed tests came within a calendar year, and the third came while he was in the midst of serving his suspension for the second. While there is certainly some humor to be found in the situation, it’s a sad end for a player who could’ve carved out a key bullpen role for years to come. Mejia isn’t going away quietly, though, instead opting to go out in a blaze of glory.

About a week ago, the former Met gave an interview to the New York Times. In it, he alleged that Major League Baseball had it out for him and was on a crusade to ban him from the game. He doubled down on those claims Friday, as he and his lawyer held a press conference. His lawyer had a lot to say on the matter, including their claim that the league was seeking an investigation for another unnamed player and they wanted Mejia to testify against them. After he refused, according to their story, the league hired a "third-party contractor" to infiltrate Mejia’s social media accounts in search of information. This is obviously a serious allegation, and for their part MLB is denying everything.

Looking ahead, it appears the next step for Mejia is a lawsuit. Although the whole thing sounds crazy, he doesn’t really have any other options. Right now, the assumption is that this is a ridiculous accusation from a desperate player. While it may be true that it all sounds like a mad conspiracy, it’s important to realize this is a young man trying to deal with losing everything he’s ever worked for. Also, for what it’s worth, MLB has been shady in PED investigations before, most notably including the Biogenesis scandal. This would be on another level entirely, though. At this point, the safe move is to keep assuming there’s nothing to these claims, but it will certainly be an interesting situation to follow as it continues to unfold.

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