Report: Yasiel Puig faced two sexual assault allegations in 2017

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Outfielder Yasiel Puig was charged with sexual assault by two women in January 2017, according to a report by Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post. Puig was also charged with sexual assault in 2018, with those previously reported allegations resulting in a civil action that was settled out of court last October.

The Post’s report contains details of the disturbing set of allegations made against the then Dodgers outfielder in 2017. A woman claimed Puig became violent during a sexual encounter. She reported the allegation to the police – who photographed the injuries she said resulted from it – but declined to lay criminal charges. The other woman alleged that Puig attempted to force her to engage in various sexual acts without her consent, according to a letter from the woman’s lawyer to Puig obtained by mail. There is no indication that the second woman reported the alleged assault to police.

The two women initiated civil actions against Puig, which were settled confidentially out of court in April 2017. Under both settlements, Puig denied the veracity of the allegations. His lawyer told the Post that Puig had agreed to deal with this issue based on the advice of the lawyer at the time, citing the Cuban native’s “limited English skills” as a factor in Puig’s decision to adopt this course of action. Puig’s agent Lisette Carnet told the Post that she believes Latin American players are particularly sensitive to the false allegations made against them. She also asserted that players agreeing to confidential settlements with sexual assault accusers is standard practice throughout MLB, a practice some officers consider “part of the business behind the game.”

Major League Baseball investigated the two incidents in 2017, according to Garcia-Roberts, ultimately making the decision not to impose discipline. The decision was made “on the basis of the evidence available to league investigators,” a league spokesperson told the Post. (The MLB was allowed to speak with the women despite the inclusion of nondisclosure agreements in the respective regulations, according to Garcia-Roberts, although it is not clear if they have already done so).

Puig continued to play this season as the league investigation was ongoing. This is common practice in cases where the allegations have not been made public, Garcia-Roberts notes. As the joint MLB – MLBPA policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse gives the league the power to place a player accused of a violation on paid administrative leave pending investigation, the Post writes that the MLB has generally refused to do so unless the allegations are made public in some other way or unless they are about to impose discipline.

Dodgers president Stan Kasten told the Post he had “no recollection” of the allegations against Puig. Garcia-Roberts notes that the Joint Domestic Violence Policy contains a provision that limits the league’s ability to release information related to an investigation – even to the player’s team – under certain circumstances (i.e. for the imposition of disciplinary measures, in anticipation of a grievance, when necessary to continue the player’s potential mental health treatment, etc.).

Puig played in Los Angeles until the end of the 2018 season. He split the 2019 campaign between the Reds and Indians. As he approached a deal to sign with the Braves in 2020, that deal was scuttled after testing positive for COVID-19. He didn’t play last year and then spent 2021 in the Mexican League. Last week Puig signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization. In recent months, the 31-year-old has continued to voice his desire to eventually return to MLB.

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