Former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer reaches settlement with The Athletic, reporter in defamation case


Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has reached a settlement in his defamation case against The Athletic and one of its former reporters over an article written about a restraining order filed against the former MLB pitcher in 2021.

A source with knowledge of the matter told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the settlement resolves any legal action brought against The Athletic and its former reporter, Molly Knight, who tweeted about the story and Bauer at the time of its publication.

Trevor Bauer pitches for the Dodgers

Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on after giving up a hit to Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 12, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

According to the source, part of the settlement included the publication making changes to the article and Knight’s tweets being removed.

EX-MLB STAR TREVOR BAUER DENIES LATEST SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIMS

The source added that Bauer’s defamation lawsuit was “never about money” but about “media reporting and verification standards.”

A spokesperson for the New York Times, which acquired The Athletic in 2022, confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that an editor’s note had been added to the original story.

“Last year, the federal district court found that The Athletic’s story was an accurate account of court proceedings and not actionable,” the statement from the Times reads.

“We are proud of our reporting on this important story and we are pleased that Mr. Bauer has now withdrawn his claims.”

Trevor Bauer pitches for the Dodgers

Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers delivers the ball against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 4, 2021, in Chicago. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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The complaint accused The Athletic and Knight of defamation over the publication’s reporting about a restraining order filed against Bauer, which alleged that he caused a San Diego woman to suffer injuries from a sexual encounter that he said was consensual, according to USA Today.

The report made mention of “signs” of a skull fracture but omitted information from a CT scan that proved otherwise, per USA Today.

The editor’s note on the article was clarified to include that information.

“This story was an account of legal papers filed by a California woman who claimed she had been injured by Trevor Bauer during rough sex. The story has been revised to clarify that a CT scan found no evidence the woman suffered a skull fracture and emergency room medical records attached to the woman’s request concluded she suffered no such fracture,” the note reads.

“The Athletic did not intend to state or imply that the woman suffered a fractured skull.”

Trevor Bauer pitches for the Dodgers

Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers pauses between pitches during the game with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 23, 2021, in San Diego. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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MLB suspended Bauer last year for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy after a California woman claimed she was assaulted during encounters with Bauer. However, an arbiter cut the suspension from two years to 194 games.

Bauer was never charged with a crime and denied the claims the California woman made.

A new accusation surfaced this month, this time from a woman in Arizona, but Bauer’s attorneys denied the allegations and filed a countersuit that alleges the woman claimed she was pregnant after a single and consensual encounter and that she demanded $1.6 million to terminate the pregnancy.

Bauer is currently playing with the Yokohama BayStars in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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