Baseball super star Alex Rodriguez dropped a federal lawsuit against Major League Baseball and its players union that challenged a 162-game suspension.
The federal lawsuit was the Yankees third baseman's last chance at trying to overturn the unprecedented punishment handed down by the league over allegations that Rodriguez used performance-enhancing drugs and then tried to scuttle an investigation into his use of the drugs.
In a statement, Major League Baseball said it had been informed Rodriguez was ending all litigation related to the "Biogenesis matter."
"We believe that Mr. Rodriguez's actions show his desire to return the focus to play our great game on the field and to all of the positive attributes and actions of his fellow Major League Players," the league said. "We share that desire."
The Major League Baseball Players Association, which defended Rodriguez during arbitration, echoed the statement, saying Rodriguez had "done the right thing by withdrawing his lawsuit."
"His decision to move forward is in everyone's best interest," the MLBPA continued.
Representatives for Rodriguez did not immediately return a request for comment.
Rodriguez, if you remember, was implicated in a broad doping scheme involving him and a dozen other major league players who allegedly received banned substances from a South Florida clinic known as Biogenesis. Rodriguez was the only player to challenge the suspensions handed down by the league.
Back in January, an arbitrator sided mostly with baseball. While Fredric Horowitz cut the league's suspension to 162 games from 211 games, he said the league had "demonstrated with clear and convincing evidence" that Rodriguez had violated baseball's drug policy.
"While this length of suspension may be unprecedented for a MLB player, so is the misconduct he committed," Horowitz concluded.
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