Alexis Blackburn filed a civil complaint against former Texas Rangers pitcher Sam Dyson in Florida’s 15th Judicial Court on Monday, accusing him of battery, rape, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, The Athletic reports.
In November 2019, Blackburn accused Dyson, her ex-boyfriend, of abuse in an Instagram post.
The Athletic‘s Katie Strang and Ken Rosenthal conducted an investigation in which they found substantial evidence to back up Blackburn’s claims, as well as an alleged pattern of reported abuse that spanned Blackburn and Dyson’s six-year relationship.
Following Blackburn’s social media post, Major League Baseball (MLB) began looking into whether Dyson had broken the league’s domestic violence policy. Dyson was found to be in violation of the rules, and he was suspended for the 2021 season.
The newly filed civil complaint details additional physical and sexual abuse incidents. According to Blackburn, Dyson pointed a loaded gun at her in February 2017 and assaulted and raped her in 2019.
According to the complaint, Dyson also allegedly emotionally abused Blackburn, including refusing to assist her in speaking with a mental health professional.
The pitcher is also accused of calling other MLB players a “slew of racist names,” including allegedly calling Black players the N-word and referring to Latino players as “poor Mexicans,” according to the complaint, per SFGate.
Dyson was traded from the Rangers to the San Francisco Giants in June of 2017.
After two years with the team, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins at the MLB trade deadline in 2019. Dyson had shoulder surgery soon after the trade, and the Twins did not re-sign him at the end of the season, leaving him a free agent. He hasn’t signed with another team since then.
If you or someone you know needs help dealing with domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached by calling 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or visiting their website, thehotline.org.
