9 more accuse late Red Sox clubhouse manager of abuse
9 more accuse late Red Sox clubhouse manager of abuse
BOSTON — Nine more men are accusing a now-dead Boston Red Sox clubhouse manager of sexual abuse, including assaults at Fenway Park and Memorial Stadium, former home of the Baltimore Orioles.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said 11 men have now come forward to him to claim abuse by Donald Fitzpatrick between the 1960s and early 1990s.
Ten of the men worked in their teens as clubhouse attendants, including eight who worked for the Red Sox and two for the Orioles. Another man says he was 12 when Fitzpatrick lured him to his Randolph home with promises of baseball memorabilia, then molested him.
Ron Shelton, a former Orioles attendant, said Fitzpatrick molested him twice, the first time after cornering him in an equipment room in 1990 at Memorial Stadium.
Fitzpatrick, who died in 2005, resigned from the Red Sox in 1991 after the first of the charges against him. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery on a child under 12. The Red Sox have also settled a lawsuit by seven Florida men who claimed Fitzpatrick abused them.
Counting the newest allegations, 21 men in three states have accused Fitzpatrick of sexual abuse.
Lenny Dykstra gets
3 years in Calif. prison
SAN FERNANDO, Calif. — Disgraced ex-New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra on Monday was sentenced to three years in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ulfig sentenced Dykstra after refusing to allow him to withdraw his plea and said the scam to lease high-end automobiles from dealerships by providing fraudulent information and claiming credit through a phony business showed sophistication and extensive planning.
“He obviously didn’t have the money to get the vehicles,” Ulfig said. “His conduct was indeed criminal.”
Dykstra, 49, has had a series of recent legal troubles, and the prison sentence is part of a post-career downward spiral for the stocky slugger known as “Nails” that has included a stint at a sober living facility.
In a rambling and impassioned plea for probation, Dykstra said he has tried to make amends for his past transgressions and said he would be cleared of any wrongdoing had his motion to withdraw his plea been granted.
LeBron’s mother gets
plea deal in valet fracas
MIAMI — The mother of Miami Heat star LeBron James has accepted a plea deal that includes dropping a battery charge stemming from an altercation with a hotel parking valet.
Gloria James agreed Monday to donate $1,000 to a Haitian earthquake relief fund and perform 20 hours of community service. If she completes the service hours, a disorderly intoxication charge also will be dismissed.
The 44-year-old Gloria James was arrested in April 2011 after valet Rock Feller Sorel claimed she hit him because it took him too long to get her car at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel. LeBron James was not with his mother at the time.
Sorel has also sued Gloria James, seeking thousands of dollars in damages. Her attorney, Christopher Lyons, declined comment because of the pending lawsuit.
Kings extend contract
of coach Keith Smart
DENVER — Keith Smart already had the full support of his players.
Now, the Sacramento Kings coach has the backing of the organization to go with it.
President of basketball operations Geoff Petrie announced Monday the team extended Smart’s contract through the 2012-13 season. The 47-year-old Smart stepped in when Paul Westphal was fired in early January.
For Smart, this was another chance to show his leadership skills on the bench after the Golden State Warriors let him go last April after one solid season. He appreciates the opportunity, even if he didn’t think another shot would happen this soon.
IndyCar drivers insist
they will race at Texas
SEBRING, Fla.— Several IndyCar drivers dismissed any notion of boycotting Texas Motor Speedway and said the entire issue has been blown out of proportion.
Track president Eddie Gossage last week reacted angrily to rumors that IndyCar’s drivers had discussed skipping the June 9 race over concerns with how the fence is constructed. The drivers insisted Monday they will race at Texas.
By wire sources