Woman disputes claims in Trevor Bauer's defamation suit, denies making false allegations

LOS ANGELES — The San Diego woman who initially accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault, triggering the investigation that prompted an unprecedented two-year suspension, denied that her allegations were «false, fabricated or bogus,» her attorneys wrote in a court filing earlier this week.

Bauer, who appealed his suspension from Major League Baseball and is currently navigating through a lengthy grievance process, filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman in April. The suit claimed she «fabricated allegations of sexual assault,» «pursued bogus criminal and civil actions,» «made false and malicious statements» and «generated a media blitz based on her lies» in an effort to «destroy» Bauer's reputation, «garner attention for herself» and «extract millions of dollars.»

As part of her response, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the woman denied that her initial statement to police, in which she accused Bauer of non-consensual rough sex in May 2021, was «false, misleading or defamatory.» She also denied that she sought a domestic violence restraining order for «improper purpose» and that the photographs of her injuries submitted in court were «altered or filtered,» among dozens of other allegations made by Bauer's legal team in an initial suit.

The woman — whom ESPN has chosen not to name — originally alleged that Bauer took consensual rough sex too far during two encounters at his Pasadena, California, home in April and May 2021, alleging that he choked her unconscious on multiple occasions, sodomized her without consent and punched her all over her body, leaving her with injuries that prompted medical attention. Bauer and his attorneys have firmly denied the allegations, calling them