‘If I did something wrong, I\u2019d take my name down (from Level of Excellence) myself. But I haven\u2019t done anything wrong.’<\/p>\n
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Published Apr 02, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 12\u00a0minutes ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 7 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. \u2014 Five years after being banished from baseball, Roberto Alomar has broken his silence, claiming he has done nothing wrong and there is no need for him to apologize.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with The Toronto Sun, a calm but clearly frustrated Alomar insists that he is not guilty of sexual misconduct of any kind and should never have been banned from Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cThey said I did this, they said I did that,\u201d the 58-year-old Alomar said. \u201cThey said a lot of things. I said \u2018Prove it to me.\u2019 They went and did an investigation. I have to be careful here about what I say and how I say it.<\/p>\n \u201cI said \u2018What proof do you have?\u2019 They never told me.<\/p>\n \u201cYou walk around Toronto now there\u2019s no story out there. Nobody knows the story. I don\u2019t know. You don\u2019t know. They just told me that we have to do this.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I did something wrong, I\u2019d take my name down (from Level of Excellence) myself. But I haven\u2019t done anything wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n We apologize, but this video has failed to load.<\/p>\n Play Video<\/p>\n Sources close to Major League Baseball claim that MLB, and by extension the Blue Jays, all but forced him into signing an agreement, matching MLB\u2019s payment to a female complainant of $500,000 US and also claim MLB all but forced him into signing a non-disclosure clause, which has kept him uncomfortably silent all these years.<\/p>\n He\u2019s still unsure and not fully understanding of what he can and cannot talk about regarding his lifetime suspension.<\/p>\n \u2018They made me pay. They forced me.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThey bullied me,\u201d Alomar said. \u201cThey say you have to match (our payment). I said, \u2018What did I do? Show me what I did.\u2019 I didn\u2019t want to pay. They made me pay. They forced me.<\/p>\n \u201cMy lawyer told me, if you go to court (against this woman), it could wind up costing you $2-3 million in legal fees just to fight this and this could last 10 years. I couldn\u2019t do that. I couldn\u2019t afford to do that. I didn\u2019t have that kind of money. I don\u2019t have that kind of money.\u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The female complainant who worked in the baseball industry, possibly for the Blue Jays, reported Alomar for sexual misconduct in 2014. Years later, after a lawsuit was filed against baseball, MLB conducted an independent investigation under its policies.<\/p>\n The investigation \u2014 Alomar believes there were three of them \u2014 led commissioner Rob Manfred to conclude that Alomar had violated their policy and the conduct was serious enough for the lifetime punishment of banishment from baseball.<\/p>\n Both commissioner Manfred and Jays president Mark Shapiro were approached to be interviewed for this story. Manfred never responded to requests. Shapiro chose not to comment, indicating the legal process and the non-disclosure agreement made it impossible for him to do so. Manfred\u2019s deputy commissioner, Dan Halem, handled the Alomar situation for MLB.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Alomar said he has never read any of the investigation reports.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said I had to pay (half of the $1 million paid to settle the case against baseball). I didn\u2019t want to pay. They made me pay. They said they\u2019d go after me if I didn\u2019t pay. Remember, I\u2019m not an American. I don\u2019t understand all this legal stuff. All I know is I never did whatever they say I did with this girl. I knew her.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw her for 10 minutes (that night). She went to bed. That was it.\u201d<\/p>\n Is Alomar still welcome at Rogers Centre?<\/p>\n Alomar remains among the most decorated players in the history of the sport and certainly the history of Toronto sport. While no longer on the Jays Level of Excellence and all but written out of Blue Jays history, he remains in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame and the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, where he played just three seasons for the O\u2019s.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Hall in Cooperstown would not remove his name because his lifetime suspension came after his playing career had ended. His Hall of Fame induction was based solely on his playing days.<\/p>\n It hurts Alomar to this day that he\u2019s no longer recognized by the Blue Jays, no longer welcome in the stadium, not considered worthy of being honoured in this 50th season of Blue Jays baseball. It also hurts him that if someone walks into the Blue Jays store at the Rogers Centre and asks for a Number 12 jersey with Alomar\u2019s name on the back, they will be told it is not available.<\/p>\n Alomar still spends a great deal of his time in Toronto. He has a daughter here. He has an annual golf tournament in Hamilton. But he no longer runs his youth development camps or tournaments around the Jays or spends any time with their minor-league players as he once did. Prior to his banishing on April 30, 2021, he worked part-time for the Jays and part-time for MLB.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to be a Blue Jay for life,\u201d Alomar said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I feel. I don\u2019t care what they say about what happened. To me it\u2019s not the fans saying it. People seem to love me in Toronto. Sometimes they ask me \u2018Roberto what happened? We don\u2019t know.\u2019 There\u2019s no story out there. People don\u2019t know why I got suspended.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know? Nobody knows. Not even me.\u201d<\/p>\n What does Alomar think of Mark Shapiro?<\/p>\n Alomar does hold a grudge of sorts against Blue Jays president Shapiro, who he first got to know when he played for what was then the Cleveland Indians. He doesn\u2019t believe Shapiro supported him in any way through the baseball investigations in Toronto.<\/p>\n Without saying it in so many words, Alomar believes he was found guilty without a trial. A transgression he doesn\u2019t believe he committed and one the court of public opinion remains uncertain about because of the secretive nature of the baseball investigations. The investigations have never been made public. The facts in the case have never been challenged.<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cToronto never turned their back on me,\u201d Alomar said. \u201cOnly one person turned their back on me and that\u2019s Mark Shapiro.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go back, I never saw eye-to-eye with him from Day 1 in Cleveland. I signed to play there for four years. I bought a house. My brother (Sandy) was there. It was one of the greatest times of my life. Sandy was going to be a free agent and Mark became GM and asked me if I was OK if my brother leaves. I said I\u2019m happy here, I just had my best year as a player. We have a good team. I\u2019ve got Omar (Vizquel) at shortstop.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said \u2018Good, we want to build around you.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cTwo days later I was traded to the Mets. He didn\u2019t call me to tell me I was traded. I found out from a radio guy. Then my agent called. Mark never called. He never shook my hand. That was the last time I spoke to him before he came (to the Jays).\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 9<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Long after that, Shapiro called the trading of Alomar to be the worst deal of his career.<\/p>\n An external law firm not associated with baseball conducted the Alomar investigation for MLB and concluded that he had violated MLB policies and should be permanently terminated.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n What can be done with Brendon Little, the pitcher Blue Jays fans love to hate?<\/p>\n![\"Roberto](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0402-roberto-alomar-blue-jays.jpg\")
Roberto Alomar talks to during a press in 2010 after being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Postmedia Network filesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.9.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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