Chapter[ Appendices ]
Section[ Appendix A - Independence of the Investigation ]
Appendix A
Independence of the Investigation
There are a number of activities and current or former relationships that existed
between me or my law firm, DLA Piper US LLP, and various potentially interested persons or
entities. I am confident that none of these matters affected my ability to conduct an investigation
that was thorough, impartial, and fair. Among those are the following:
I have been a consultant to the owners of the Boston Red Sox since that club was
acquired in 2002 by an ownership group led by John W. Henry. The club labels
that position “director.” I am not and have never been involved in any way in
baseball operations, and I have no vote on any decisions by the owners. I do not
now hold, nor have I in the past ever held, any ownership or other equity interest
in the Red Sox.
From 1995 until the end of 2006, I was a director and, from March 2004, the
chairman of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company, a diversified
media company that among other businesses owns ABC, Inc. and its majority
owned subsidiary ESPN, Inc. Until 2003, Walt Disney owned the Anaheim
Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels).
For approximately one year beginning in September 2000 I served on the board of
directors of the Florida Marlins. I did not hold, nor have I in the past ever held,
any ownership or other equity interest in the Marlins.
I served as a member of the Blue Ribbon panel on baseball economics, which
issued a report on that subject in July 2000. The other members of that panel
were Richard C. Levin, Paul A. Volcker, and George F. Will.
During 2004, a lawyer in the Las Vegas office of DLA Piper (then called Piper
Rudnick LLP) acted as local counsel for the Major League Baseball Players
Association in an action filed by that Association regarding the federal
government’s seizure of records concerning anonymous drug testing of players in
Major League Baseball that was conducted pursuant to the Basic Agreement
during 2003. The firm’s involvement ended in September 2004, even though the
litigation continued after that date. I was not involved in that case in any way and
was not aware of it prior to this investigation.
My firm’s prior involvement as local counsel for the Players Association also
required us to discuss with that organization my appointment to conduct this investigation. As a
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result of those discussions, the Players Association consented to my appointment, and to my use
of DLA Piper lawyers to assist me.
Role of Foley & Lardner LLP. At the March 30, 2006 press conference
announcing my appointment, the Commissioner introduced two lawyers from Foley & Lardner
LLP who would also be involved in the investigation. Foley & Lardner regularly represents the
Commissioner and Major League Baseball in a variety of legal matters. Before joining the
Commissioner’s Office in 1998, Robert A. DuPuy, who is the president and chief operating
officer of Major League Baseball, was a partner at the Foley firm and in that position served as
outside counsel to the league in a number of matters.
From the outset of this investigation, I recognized the importance of my
interviewing the Commissioner to determine his own awareness of the use of performance
enhancing substances in baseball and the steps that were taken in response to that awareness.
For this reason, and in order to avoid even the appearance of bias, the Commissioner, Foley &
Lardner and I agreed that lawyers from the Foley firm would not serve as members of my
investigative team, and they have not done so. From the outset of this investigation, Foley &
Lardner has performed a distinct and important role as counsel for the Commissioner’s Office.
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