Former MLB pitcher Sam Dyson has been accused of rape, battery and infliction of emotional distress. The allegations were listed in legal papers filed in Florida’s 15th Judicial Court this past Monday.
These disturbing allegations were made by his former girlfriend, Alexis Blackburn. She initially went public with the accusations in November 2019 on Instagram.
In March, MLB suspended Dyson for the entire 2021 season following Blackburn’s claims. The newly filed complaint says Dyson pointed a loaded gun at Blackburn in February 2017 and assaulted and raped her two years later, SFGate.com reported.
A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, law firm representing Blackburn issued the following statement:
“Alexis Blackburn hopes this lawsuit will help all women who are in an abusive relationship. She hopes it provides the freedom to escape abusive relationships and calls on all professional sports’ leagues take to notice and to take quantum steps to eliminate the acceptance of domestic violence and sexual violence in sports.”
In an additional statement, SFGate.com reported, Robert Buschel from the Buschel Gibbons Law Firm claimed Dyson “has not accepted responsibility for his behavior, thus he has forced this matter to be tried and proven in front of a jury. … We have no doubt that the findings of the jury will be identical to that of Major League Baseball and that Mr. Dyson will be held to account for his violent actions against Ms. Blackburn.”
Dyson, who played for five different teams between 2012 and 2019, was a fourth-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2010 MLB Draft. He played 2.5 seasons in Miami and went 6-6 as a starter with a 3.62 ERA before being traded to the Texas Rangers in 2015.
After joining the Rangers, Dyson played in 121 games and had a 3.27 ERA while going 6-9 as a starter. He was traded once again to the San Francisco Giants in 2017, going 11-8 with a 2.94 ERA over 161 games.
His last action in MLB came in 2019 when he played 12 games for the Minnesota Twins.
