Report: White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger under investigation by MLB after abuse allegations
Warning: The following article contains graphic allegations of domestic violence.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger is reportedly being investigated by Major League Baseball after he was accused of domestic violence and child abuse, according to The Athletic.
According to Olivia Finestead, who shares a 10-month-old daughter with Clevinger, he allegedly committed multiple offenses of physical, verbal and emotional abuse.
The report is described as “developing” and details two incidents from last June in which Clevinger reportedly choked Finestead, then slapped her and threw used chewing tobacco on their child two weeks later.
Finestead said the second incident occurred in a hotel room when the Padres (whom Clevinger played for at the time) were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 24-year-old shared The Athletic’s report to her Instagram Story after posting multiple slides, which include photos of her alleged injuries and more details of alleged abuse. She also wrote that she filed a police report against Clevinger.
“You really deserve hell,” Finestead wrote, “I’ve kept quiet for almost a year and you continue to covertly abuse your infant, withhold ALL of her belongings, we have none of our stuff, still not even her birth certificate or her car seat attachment. He’s made sure to do everything he can to keep control.”
In one of the allegations from her Instagram story, Finestead said Clevinger threw an iPad at her while she was pregnant. She noted that Clevinger has other children with someone else and shared screenshots of the conversation between mothers, claiming that they were both victims of his alleged abusive tendencies. Finestead also posted a message from someone who said they once knew Clevinger but alleges they cut ties with him because he was “such a psychopath.”
Finestead added that she was left “alone homeless” 13 weeks after giving birth to their daughter. “I really hope you feel an immense amount of guilt for what you’ve done to ALL of you kids and their mothers including myself,” she wrote.
MLB investigates Clevinger
Sources familiar with MLB’s investigation process confirmed to The Athletic and ESPN that there is an open investigation of Clevinger.
Clevinger was reportedly contacted by investigators last summer while still a member of the San Diego Padres.
The 33-year-old agreed to a one-year, $12 million free-agent contract with the White Sox in November and officially signed in December. The Athletic’s source and Finestead were both told that the team did not become aware of the allegations until after Clevinger signed.
The investigation will reportedly be conducted under MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy shared by the MLB and MLBPA.
"Major League Baseball and the Chicago White Sox take any and all allegations very seriously," the team said in a statement. "The White Sox will refrain from comment until MLB's investigative process has reached its conclusion.”
In the meantime, some fans are calling for Clevinger to be released from the team.
