The Braves placed pitching coach Roger McDowell on administrative leave yesterday while they investigate allegations that he made homophobic comments, crude gestures and threatened a fan with a baseball bat at AT&T Park in San Francisco last Sunday.
McDowell apologized Wednesday in a statement released by the Braves, but Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com writes this morning that he is “almost certain” to be suspended by major league baseball. While veteran pitching coach Dave Wallace has taken over for McDowell on an interim basis, Rosenthal hears that he is unlikely to be fired by the Braves.
Though McDowell is not a current player, there is at least some precedent for a potential punishment from MLB. Former Braves reliever John Rocker was suspended for the first 28 games of the 2000 season after making his infamous comments about New York in Sports Illustrated. The suspension was reduced to 14 games following an appeal.
