If you’re unaware of the Trevor Bauer sexual assault allegations either you’re not a sports fan or really don’t give a shit about baseball. There’s been a lot to unpack in this FRO hearing that might determine the outcome of Bauer’s future in baseball.
Sexual assault is obviously an uncomfortable subject to speak on. Society demands you to believe the accused is innocent until proven otherwise. Morality pushes you to believe the victim who claims to have just gone through one of humanity’s most heinous crimes. Law and morales muddy your thoughts. It’s important to point out that what you believe to be correct and what’s correct in the eyes of the law can often be two different things.
For example, I think Trevor Bauer’s a piece of shit. I do not like him. Do I think he needs to go to extremes to get his rocks off? Of course, watch him pitch one time. But the question becomes, did he reasonably understand that his actions were off limits? Luckily, that’s not my burden to decide. But I will breakdown the first two days of Bauer’s FRO hearing and other evidence for you to formulate your own opinions.
First some terminology, since it’s come to my attention that not everyone’s familiar with procedural jargon. To some, these terms may be obvious, but it’s not exactly definitions you learn in grade school.
TRO (Temporary Restraining Order)- granted by a Judge to keep the accused from having any contact with the alleged victim until they can have an FRO hearing.
FRO (Final Restraining Order)- The hearing that’s currently happening. In the state of California if the FRO is granted it’s held for a minimum of five years. This is not a criminal procedure. But if the accused violates the terms set by the Judge of a granted FRO they could find themselves in jail.
Criminal Investigation- As I alluded to above, the investigation of a crime is still ongoing. If the accused is hit with an FRO, that does not confirm that a crime was committed. Yet, an FRO can be referred to in a future criminal case.
Civil Lawsuit- When you sue the shit out of someone for money. Hello OJ Simpson.
Because the victim in this case is alleging sexual assault, I will only refer to her as Jane Doe or Ms. Doe.
For anyone living under a rock, Jane Doe has accused the 2020 Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer, of sexual assault and domestic violence. The allegations include knocking her unconscious, strangulation, and performing anal sex with her without her consent.
Two days before the FRO hearing the NY Post released an article on Trevor Bauer’s sexual proclivities. One piece of evidence admitted to the article was a Snapchat message obatained by the Post that read the following:
“Like the only reason I’d consider seeing you again is to choke you unconscious punch you in the face shove my fist up your ass skull fuck you and kick you out naked. And obviously I’d never do something like that to anyone. So can’t even enjoy the one thing I sometimes enjoyed with you.”
If these are confirmed, Bauer’s a freak man. Also serves as a reminder that your Snap messages aren’t as gone as you thought they were.
On the first day of the hearing, Jane Doe took the stand and in graphic detail explained how Trevor Bauer choked her unconscious with her own hair. She said that she was unable to breathe, speak, or move after the incident. Ms. Doe claims that Bauer treated her “like a rag doll”, taking a closed fist to her jaw, vagina, and buttocks. She told the court that she was in pain and afraid of Trevor Bauer.
Ms. Holley, Bauer’s attorney, began by requesting the restraining order be dropped on the grounds of the violent acts only taking place during sex which they believe to have been consensual. The request was denied.
The defense’s opening statements pointed to messages sent by Jane Doe implying a desire to be choked and another sent to a friend that stated she “already had her hooks in” when referring to Bauer.
Jane Doe’s opening statements took the court down her personal journey towards sobriety and her insecurities in wanting to please Bauer. She said she had felt embarrassed and that everything happened so fast that she was unable to tell Bauer to stop. She concluded by telling the court that she had felt like she was treated like “I wasn’t a human being.”
Day Two had witnesses questioned along with a cross examination on the alleged victim. There’s a lot to go through here and I’ll try my best to keep it as brief as possible, it might get a little bullet-y.
Jane Doe says that Bauer was manipulative in making her feel safe but also that this was her fault. She says she didn’t leave his house the night of the attack because it was late and she lived two hours away. She claims most of the night was spent focusing on not vomiting. Doe stated that after the incident when she texted Bauer “I’ve never been more turned on in my life”, she was being dishonest in order to tell Bauer what he wanted to hear.
The court was shown pictures of the injuries sustained that night but the defense claims they’ve been edited. The picture showed two black eyes. In a personal text sent to her friend in reference to her appearance she said “It was just during sex. Like it was consensual.” Jane Doe explained that what started as a consensual act went too far and turned into something she felt she didn’t consent to. She said that her initial downplaying of the situation stemmed from a fear of the publicity she knew the case would cause. She was afraid of being painted “as the slut”.
Her and Bauer exchanged texts from the hospital. The accused sent a message reading “wish I could hold you right now and play with your hair.” Ms. Doe explained that she was confused if he cared or not and that things felt rehearsed with him. She said that she told Bauer she was fine as a tactic to get him to stop contacting her.
Jane Doe did report the incident to the police but labeled the department as “corrupt fuckers.” She felt that the female detective that conducted the interview was degrading and “slut-shaming”.
More texts between Bauer and Ms. Doe were presented to the court. Bauer stated that he was sorry and inquired on how he could assist the alleged victim. Ms. Doe responded telling Bauer, “the best thing you could do to help me is to never do this to anyone else ever again.”
A call to Bauer was conducted in front of police presence in order to try and have him acknowledge what he had done to the victim. Throughout the call, whenever the subject of him striking Ms. Doe arose, he allegedly diverted the attention to her. During the call Bauer insisted he had only punched her buttocks.
It was revealed that Bauer provided the messages between him and his accuser. Jane Doe admitted to deleting his messages because she “couldn’t bare to see his name on her phone.” Bauer’s attorney pointed out that she still shared memes of Bauer with her friends afterwards though.
During the cross examination Bauer’s attorney asked for clarification on the “having her hooks in” remark. Jane Doe claims that it was sarcasm. Bauer’s defense then went on to confirm that Jane Doe had former relations with other baseball players. Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mike Clevinger of the San Diego Padres. It was revealed that Jane Doe had been fired from her job for her relationship with Tatis.
The court was shown a post of Tatis mocking Bauer by covering one eye and Jane Doe using “dollar sign emojis” in reference to the post.
Upon further questioning, Jane Doe admitted to previously being choked before, but not to the point of losing consciousness. She also confirmed that she was the first one to mention “rough” between her and Bauer. When Bauer responded by saying he likes it more rough than her, she did not reply.
Bauer’s attorney stated that he stopped sticking his fingers down Jane Doe’s throat when she objected. Ms Holley then asked the alleged victim, “You were capable of telling Trevor something that you didn’t want to happen?” When she replied yes, the attorney claimed that Bauer also stopped with anal sex when he was asked to stop.
The SART nurse took the stand and confirmed that she witnessed visible bruising to the eyes and lips as well as signs of injury to “the external genitalia and buttocks”. The nurse also stated that Jane Doe had told her that Bauer had choked her with her own hair.
A forensic nurse stated that the “raccoon eyes” appearance is consistent with strangulation. The forensic nurse also stated that she did not recall any bruising around the victim’s throat. She expressed that Jane Doe had told her that Bauer posed no threat of future harm. There was also no mention of anal sex in the statement that Ms. Doe had given her. The forensic nurse agreed that the injuries sustained could have been from strangulation or physical blows. She concluded by saying the photos of the injuries are accurate and were not edited.
Jane Doe was once again questioned by Ms. Holley, Bauer’s attorney. She read a message to the victim where Doe says that Bauer should leave his pink socks on when cuddling, but come off “when it’s time to choke me out.” When asked why this message was left out of her restraining order statement, Ms. Doe said “I didn’t ask to be punched all over my body to the point where I had to be hospitalized.”
Ms. Doe was once again questioned on her previous relationships with other ball players. Texts were read between her and a friend. After Tatis hit a home run off of Bauer she messaged a friend saying “I knew I was gonna get in his head….Tatis better in bed, and the field, he is roasting Bauer.”
Either way this plays out, I’ll still think Bauer is a piece of shit. SOMETHING happened that night. I’ll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions. But remember, just because an FRO is granted doesn’t necessarily mean a crime occurred. And vice versa. If the FRO is denied, doesn’t mean that a crime didn’t occur. The MLB and police are still conducting their own investigations. There’s still a lot to unpack and this incident is far from over. But one thing remains clear, this thing had way more layers to it than anyone saw coming.
