Lawyers in A-Rod doping case nearly came to blows: Report

When Alex Rodriguez hired noted courtroom tough guy Joe Tacopina to be his lawyer in his battle against Major League Baseball's 211-game suspension last August, the Yankees third baseman might have gotten a little more fighter than cornerman. And you might call Wednesday's upcoming meeting — between A-Rod's attorney and MLB's star witness Anthony Bosch's lawyer — a literal Round 2.

According to The N.Y. Daily News, the high-profile defense attorney had to be physically restrained from brawling with another lawyer two weeks ago during his defense of Rodriguez when the steroid-stained slugger’s appeal kicked off in the normally sedate Park Avenue offices of Major League Baseball.

The News reported:

According to several sources with knowledge of the altercation, Tacopina instigated a confrontation with Julio Ayala, one of the Miami attorneys who represent Anthony Bosch, the proprietor of the now-defunct Biogenesis clinic that was a source of performance-enhancing drugs for more than a dozen big leaguers — and MLB’s chief witness.

During the first week of the arbitration, the sources say, Tacopina launched an aggressive attack on Bosch’s credibility after Bosch authenticated a pile of documents and electronic communications that MLB says reflect the league’s conclusion that Rodriguez acquired banned substances from Bosch over several years. It was during a break in one of those tense sessions that Tacopina and Ayala nearly came to blows.

The sources told the Daily News that Tacopina — who was frustrated that Bosch’s testimony had dominated the first three days of the hearing — asked another MLB attorney how long he planned on having baseball’s most important witness on the stand during the break in the testimony on Oct. 2.

The attorney, the sources said, told Tacopina that Bosch’s testimony would take several more hours and might spill over to the next day. “Well, I guess we have all of October, and by then Mr. Bosch will be in jail,” Tacopina replied, referring to the fact that Bosch and his now-defunct clinic are being investigated by Florida state authorities and federal law-enforcement officials from the Southern District of Florida.

Tacopina and Ayala both declined to comment on the incident when contacted by The News, citing the confidentiality order barring participants in the arbitration hearing from discussing it publicly. It is not known if arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who will ultimately decide if Rodriguez’s suspension should be upheld, reduced or overturned, witnessed the altercation. 

The incident is not likely to be part of the official record, since the court reporter was taking a break at the time.

Rodriguez and Bosch did not witness the confrontation — they were both using the men’s room when things got heated in the arbitration room.

One source told The News that Tacopina apologized to Ayala the following day, and that Ayala accepted the apology and said he wished to put the incident behind them.

Rodriguez’s appeal of his 211-game suspension resumes Wednesday. 

MLB surprises A-Rod's lawyer by waiving confidentially clause before 'Today Show' appearance

Alex Rodriguez's high-powered mouthpiece Joe Tacopina was blindsided by "Today Show" host Matt Lauer when the famous criminal defense lawyer  claimed he was anxious to talk about Rodriguez and his case against baseball — as he fights to overturn a 211 game ban he was given for his part in the Biogenesis scandal — but wasn't allowed to because of MLB's confidentiality clause.

Little did Tacopina know he was about to be ambushed in a gripping display of legal gamesmanship.

Appearing on the nationally-televised interview Monday, Tacopina said, "If the Vice President of Major League baseball would be good enough to waive the confidentiality clause, I would love nothing more than to talk about Alex's Rodriguez's testing history and various things. I would love nothing more," 

Lauer was more than prepared for that response and surprised the attorney by revealing that baseball had sent him the confidentially waiver overnight. He said that if Tacopina signed it, then “everyone” on both sides could talk. 

“They sent us a letter saying that if you’re willing to sign this letter," Lauer said.  "That they are willing to waive the confidentiality clause in the Joint Drug and Prevention Program, that they’ll be allowed to talk about everything and you’ll be allowed to talk about everything. 

“They said that would include all prior violations of the program committed by Rodriguez, all documents, records, communications, text messages and instant messages related to Rodriguez’s treatment by Anthony Bosch.”

A suddenly tongue-tied Tacopina offered to read the letter that Lauer claimed MLB had just sent over.

“Listen. We would love nothing more than to be able to discuss the testing history, the scientific evidence and the tests of Alex Rodriguez under this JDA drug program, nothing more,” said Tacopina before clamming up and going on the offensive in the interview.

He declined to sign the letter.

"Here’s what I’m prepared to answer. Alex admitted back in 2001 and 2002 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs as a member of the Texas Rangers when it was not banned (NOTE: Baseball had a banned substance list then, but did not yet discipline for PED use). He has said since then he has not. I will tell you this: This letter, if they had sent it to me last night, I would have been prepared to answer . . ."

"If he will answer that question,"Lauer interrupted.  "Doesn’t he owe people the answer to that question before you start pointing fingers at people?"

Tacopina responded, "Let me say this to you first: The reason we’re sitting here today . . . we had this scheduled for last week but we had to cancel. We saw Alex was all over the news. They want to try this case in the media. What has been going on has been outrageous . . . anonymous leak after anonymous leak after anonymous leak. It doesn’t stop. And it has to stop. They are perverting this process. The process should not be perverted."

It was just another interesting turn in the "bumpy road" A-Rod warned everyone about.

A-Rod beefs up legal team with top criminal lawyer

Alex Rodriguez is bringing in a heavy hitter to bolster his legal team as he prepares to go nine innings against Major League Baseball in its case against A-Rod in the Biogenesis PED scandal.

A-Rod has hired top New York criminal defense lawyer Joe Tacopina to back up his legal team as the Yankees slugger prepares to get ready for the fight of his career, reports Page Six of The New York Post.

The third baseman is facing a 211-game suspension, millions of dollars in lost salary and a big Scarlet C(heat) on his already tainted career.

Tacopina — who has successfully handled many high-profile cases which looked like lost causes— and has defended the likes of acquitted ex-NYPD officer Kenneth Moreno and disgraced NYC politician Hiram Monserrate. He has joined Rodriguez’s team and is expected to make a series of media appearances — including interviews with ESPN and the morning shows — to defend A-Rod next week. 

A source close to Rodriguez's camp told Page Six, “Joe is a fighter, and that is what Alex needs right now. He has been brought on to reinforce the trial team, there’s a possibility this could go all the way to federal court. Joe is known for putting the hammer down, he’s going to take on the Yankees and take on MLB.” 

While Tacopina declined to comment last night, sources tell us A-Rod’s camp believes the Yankees want out of his contract, and their delivery of a letter fining him $150,000 just before his comeback last Friday “was seen as an attempt to break his spirit.”