Jenrry Mejia says lifetime ban was a result of MLB conspiracy

(AFP Photo/Rob Foldy) New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia claims his lifetime ban from baseball is a result of a witch hunt orchestrated by Major League Baseball. Mejia told the New York Times that he felt there was a conspiracy within MLB to ruin his career.

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The 26-year-old Mejia tested positive for steroids twice during the 2015 season. He was in the process of serving his second suspension when it was revealed Mejia had tested positive a third time. That resulted in MLB handing him a lifetime suspension in February.

That story isn’t true, according to the pitcher. While he admits the first test was accurate, Mejia claims his second positive test was somehow false. Mejia says that after his second positive test, MLB pressured him to reveal his doping connections.

On top of that, Mejia says baseball officials threatened him with a positive third test if he appealed his second suspension, according to the Times.

Mejia said that baseball officials told him that if he appealed the punishment for the second doping offense, “they will find a way to find a third positive,” Mejia said through an interpreter. “I felt there was a conspiracy against me. I feel that they were trying to find something to bring me down in my career.”

Major League Baseball denied those claims.

Baseball officials denied making any such threats. “No one at MLB. or representing MLB. has met with Mejia regarding any of these drug violations,” Pat Courtney, a league spokesman, said.

Mejia also believes he should have received more support from the players’ union. He wanted to appeal the ban, but was told there were no grounds for an appeal. Mejia thinks the association “should have done more.”

[Elsewhere: Jacob deGrom refused to sign his contract for the 2016 season]

Under his current suspension, Mejia will be eligible to apply for reinstatement in 2017. Due to the doping policy, Mejia would have to serve a minimum suspension of two years, even if he’s allowed to return. After making these accusations, it seems pretty unlikely Mejia will ever step foot on a major-league field again.

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