What to Know
- Former New York Mets second baseman Wally Backman, 59, and the Long Island Ducks have been named in a sexual harassment and abuse suit
- The minor league manager was arrested last month for allegedly pushing his ex Amanda Byrnes against wall and twisting her hand
- Byrnes alleges in the suit that the LI Ducks tolerated and "benignly encouraged" Backman's alcohol abuse
Former New York Mets second baseman Wally Backman and the baseball team he manages have been named in a sexual harassment and abuse lawsuit brought on by his former girlfriend who accused him of domestic violence just last month.
The suit against Backman the Long Island Ducks comes not long after the 59-year-old minor league manager was arrested for allegedly pushing Amanda Byrnes against a wall, twisting her hand and taking her phone so she couldn't call 911. Byrnes alleges that the baseball team has a "history of tolerating, and benignly encouraging" Backman's alcohol abuse, according to her lawyer John Ray.
"[Byrnes] has a pacemaker which appears to have been displaced due to this man's raging battery of her. He was allegedly drinking alcohol since the previous Duck's game, which continued until he finally battered and hurt her," Ray said in a statement.
Other details in the lawsuit will be made public on Tuesday, according to Ray.
Backman pleaded not guilty to harassment and criminal mischief charges. He was ordered to stay away from Brynes.
His team, the Long Island Ducks, said he "categorically denies all charges against him" and will remain as manager but they could not immediately be reached for comments on the lawsuit.
Local
Legal troubles have cost Backman, the Mets' 1984-1988 starting second baseman, an opportunity to manage in the majors.
The Arizona Diamondbacks let him go four days after his 2004 hiring when a domestic violence arrest and other incidents surfaced.
