Dodgers: Major Media Publisher Asks Court to Toss Trevor Bauer's Defamation Suit

The Athletic requested that the court toss Trevor Bauer's defamation suit against them.

Trevor Bauer's appealing his 324-game suspension isn't the only court room activity stemming from his sexual encounters with a woman last year. The Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin reports that The Athletic requested that the court toss Trevor Bauer's defamation suit that alleges that the publisher went on “a campaign to maliciously target and harass him".

One of the main points of contention in the suit is The Athletic initially stating that the a doctor who examined the woman had “signs of a … skull fracture" caused by Bauer. In turn, Bauer sued The Athletic alleged that the company "maliciously left out the information that tests had ruled out a skull fracture".

The Athletic updated the story, but Bauer's legal team believes that the update was “insufficient and inaccurate". 

The Athletic's legal team stated the following:

“In short, Bauer admits to hitting a woman hard enough that doctors worried he had fractured her skull but claims it was defamatory not to explain that he did not manage to do it.”

Bauer suit includes several tweets by Molly Knight, who has since left The Athletic for Substack, that utilized language such as "cracked skull" and "fractured skull". The Athletic stated that their employee was “commenting on public allegations, not reporting new facts.”

Shaikin also noted that a separate motion made by the publisher.

"The attorneys also filed a separate motion that, if successful, could force Bauer to pay the legal fees the Athletic incurs to defend itself."

Per Shaikin, a hearing is set for both the defamation suit and the motion for August 29th.