Sports Roundup: Baseball suits

Off the field, into the courtroom. Embattled New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday for “torturous interference,” claiming he is the victim of a “witch hunt” focused on destroying his character and costing him millions of dollars. In August, Major League Baseball suspended Rodriguez 211 games for his involvement with the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. He is currently fighting the suspension through an appeals process.

In the lawsuit, Rodriguez stated that Selig is carrying out “vigilante justice” by bypassing the protocol of the collective bargaining agreement between management and the players. Rodriguez accused MLB of unethical actions such as harassing and bribing witnesses to testify against him. MLB issued a statement Thursday night vehemently denying the accusations.

Additionally, Rodriguez filed a lawsuit against Yankees team physician Christopher Ahmad and the New York–Presbyterian Hospital for medical malpractice related to an injury diagnosis in October 2012.

More legal action. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim first baseman Albert Pujols also joined the legal arena on Friday. Pujols, who previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals, sued former major league player Jack Clark for comments Clark made on a St. Louis radio show accusing Pujols of using steroids. On Aug. 2, Clark said that he knew “for a fact” Pujols used steroids and later called him a “juicer.”

“I have never shied away from standing up for the truth, and I believe that the principles at stake are too important to sit back and do nothing,” Pujols said in a statement.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages that will be donated to charity and asks that Clark publicly admit his statements were false.

What’s in a name? President Barack Obama said on Friday he would “think about changing” the Washington Redskins’ name if he were the owner of the team.

“I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things,” Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press.

The president added his voice to a growing number of people calling for Washington to remove the name many believe is offensive to Native Americans. Team owner Dan Snyder has publicly promised never to change the name.

“We at the Redskins respect everyone,” said team attorney Lanny J. Davis in a statement. “But like devoted fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks (from President Obama’s hometown ), we love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group.”