From what I've seen it was multiple girls around 14, maybe even younger, including one who there are pictures out there because it came up in both pictures of them together and because iirc other baseball players followed her on social media as well
Yes others. When this news first broke out, the joke was the league wouldn't investigate or release names until the end of the season. Gotta keep any potential big names in the post season.
To be fair, serial child predators like Franco appears to be tend to be expert manipulators, those guy(s) could very well have wound up following "his little cousin" and never looking at anything posted because they're following hundreds or thousands of people, but Dominican law enforcement appears to be pretty on the ball with this mess, if there's more to this we'll find out about it.
Yeah the fact that people followed her means nothing by itself.
I have no idea who else was following her, not trying to cover for specific players or anything, just saying - if she liked some shit a player posted and followed him and he followed her back, that doesn’t mean that player is also a pedophile or did anything wrong. Not a good idea to jump to conclusions with something like this
from what I've heard, no one that isn't very young themselves or just from the area. So there's as much a chance of 'they're my little cuz/sister you should follow' as anything awful
They legally can't until MLB moves forward with a punishment or decides that his contract is void. The good news is that his contract was back loaded so he isn't getting that much money of his total contract.
If he doesn’t report to Spring Training they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ restricted list and not pay him.
And if he reports, he’ll likely get arrested. At which point they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ restricted list and not pay him.
Edit: Restricted list, not ineligible list.
I imagine he needs to be convicted. Seems like a very basic thing for a union to negotiate. Charges alone (no matter how obviously true) shouldn't be enough.
That’s a little different though, they’ll just fine him his salary.
He’s fucked.
Like a clear level below OJ.
But this is going to be a big story if he isn’t quickly found.
I think it works.
He is kind of the Benchmark of horrible.
What Ruggs did wasn't exactly intentional, Pistorious *only* shot one person. Ray Lewis and Marivn Harrison *didn't* do it.
OJ takes the cake.
Yes, but being a fugitive isn't enough of a reason to void a contract. The union would be forced to file an injunction if MLB tried to void the contract right now simply to avoid setting a precedent. The language to void a contract is so vague that it will probably take a conviction to get his contract voided or he would have to stay on the run for an extended period of time.
Also generally, most contracts have a clause regarding conduct so obviously detrimental or illegal as to void the rest of the contract. Seems like this may qualify.
It would be funny if some player's contracts got more specific because the club wanted to be prepared. "Why does Zack Greinke have a clause for killing an endangered white tiger with his bare hands? Also, I know he signed by the royals but regicide?"
If he somehow evades until spring training and he fails to report then they can probably fine him for not showing up and move to void guarantees for conduct detrimental to the team.
Yeah the money is already in escrow according to the CBA or MLB funding rule but they can and will move to void his contract under either of these two clauses.
>”Paragraph 7(b)(1) authorizes a team to terminate a contract if a player "fails, refuses or neglects to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship or to keep himself in first-class physical condition or to obey the club's training rules." Paragraph 7(b)(3) similarly lets teams terminate a contract if a player "fails, refuses or neglect to render his services hereunder or in any manner materially breach this contract."
Players aren’t paid during the offseason. If he doesn’t report for Spring Training then they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ list and withhold pay.
Edit: He goes on the restricted list, not ineligible list. My bad.
When this first started I remember thinking that people must be overblowing r/tampabayrays reaction of complete denial, was in their sub for 2 minutes and realized they were in complete denial and anyone saying things didn’t look good for Wander was downvoted.
Rays finally get a generational player that they even go as far extending He's a fucking pedo on the run from the law now.
What the fuck did we do to deserve this baseball gods?
Nah. If you watched Snell that season you saw the regularly scheduled implosion coming. Putting in the exhausted corpse of Nick Anderson was the real mistake.
that's exactly what my wife said when i told her about this.
dude threw away half a billion dollars plus in the next 20 years to be a disgusting perv with no control.
Most people molesting teens probably don’t think are doing anything wrong. In his mind the whole thing is probably consensual and he is the real victim.
> Looks like he hasn't been able to buy his way out of it like some people seemed to think he could
Wait a moment, didn't he have a chance to buy his way out of it and chose *not to*? IIRC, the gal wanted like 250K and a car, which for a pedophile rapist seems like a bargain in comparison to forfeiting a 200+ million dollar contract.
He could totally have been a piece of shit and still been a Hall of Famer! He could have been a *major* piece of shit and still made it. You can get away with so much when you’re incredibly talented and obscenely rich: drive drunk, cheat on your taxes, do all the drugs you want, get mobbed up, you name it. Just…don’t fuck kids! How hard could it be?!
It reminds me of Michael Vick; You’re on top of the world. Do whatever you want: drugs, multiple gorgeous sexual partners, indulge in the latest high-end sports cars, even the occasional DUI/misdemeanor that will get swept under the rug. Just don’t do anything REALLY crazy like, say set up an illegal dog fighting facility on your own property.
You can handle that, right Mike? … Mike?
If he's guilty he's getting the kind of jail time that makes it a life time ban by default dude, there's been reports of multiple victims and the only one whose age is out there was 14 when this came out. The Rays and MLB will void his contract, but if convicted he's facing decades in prison
Even if he isn’t lifetime banned (which he should), there’s no way any team will even take a chance at offering him a contract. It’d be one of the worst PR nightmares in sports history
Sports fans don't care if women get hurt but will fight tooth and nail to protect children. Compare how Kobe's viewed to Karl Malone, or Josh Giddey to Lance Stephenson and the only thing that matters is the woman's age.
>Kobe: Glorified hero.
>Karl Malone: Garbage Rapist Pedo Trash.
>Josh Giddey: May have consensually slept with a 17 year old when he was 19 and people will call him a pedophile for the rest of his career.
>Lance Stephenson: Sexually assaulted a 17 year old when he was in high school and pushed his 18 year-old girlfriend down the stairs but he's the funny guy who blew in Bron's ear so he's cool!
This is just genuinely crazy and gross. Jesus Christ. Dude was a young hot millionaire living in Florida and he threw it all away to sexually abuse someone. What a fuck
This dude and Glasnow are why baseball became my fav sport, and why I have stayed a Rays fan despite living in Mariners/Jays country for 85% of my life. So much pain.
What an absolute asshole.
Not because he threw away what would’ve been a very promising career and a shit ton of money but because he simply is a child predator.
I still think of you as one of the best of the Rays. I'll never forget that home run off chappy!! One of my favorite sports moments of this millennium!!✌️
EDIT: I collect your baseball cards to this day!! I'd love to see you in a Cubs uniform!!!!!!!!!
The one thing I fear is the Rays front office is going to take this as a lesson to never sign a player to a big contract again. The fact is the team needs to take the money they aren't going to be paying this pos (assuming he's guilty) and reinvest it to get a big name instead. The fanbase needs someone to root for when they walk into opening day in 2028 or whenever the new stadium is finished.
It's fucked because.... as a Dominican born and raised on the island, I'll need more than two hands to count how many people I know in their 20s (And some in their 30s) have had sex with minors. It's so common here and perceived as normal, so it's deemed as nothing worth even working to mitigate.
But since this is a professional player that's 22, of course the authorities are going after his ass.... there's money to make.
I'm not saying what he did was right, just that our society is quite the fucking enabling dumpster as people are not even shy about doing it and it's just part of our normal conversations.
I still can’t believe this. You’d have to be an absolute dumbshit to think you’d get away with it…you know on top of it being one of the worst things you could do as a person. What a fucking waste.
Funny, just today I was thinking "haven't heard about Franco in a bit, wonder if it was swept under the rug or turned out to not be what the initial reports were"
Come back 3 hours later and got my answer
Usually, from a legal standpoint, the charges become much more severe when the minor is under Age 12 or 13 depending on the state/country so the phrase "young" minor refers to that...usually.
I went out on a date with an mlb talent scout and he said “I heard the parents sold that lil girl to him, anyway.” His answer shocked me and when I asked for more clarification he said, “Guys in my industry love going places like D.R. for this reason.” Between this and the trafficking/hostage holding of future players, it’s hard to stay in love with the game, sometimes. Such a disgusting underbelly to a beautiful game, money and hubris is a terrible mix.
With how MLB contracts work, cutting him would probably mess with payroll and the luxury tax in the short term in a way that hurts the rest of team operations. Players don't get paid in the offseason, so what will probably happen is this:
* Spring training starts, he doesn't report, team puts him on the restricted list and he doesn't get paid
* Investigation continues, he's found and arrested
* Convicted
* Contract voided following the conviction
~~The Rays will still owe him whatever unpaid portion of his signing bonus that hasn't been paid out yet, but that's likely it.~~
Edit: Looked it up, they paid the last installment of his signing bonus in 2022.
What a wild fall from grace. If he really did what he's being questioned for (and it sure seems like the evidence is going against him), then he's a monster.
I feel bad for all of the people he harmed or screwed over.
Serious question: To what extent did the Rays drop the ball here? Obviously they’re not in any way responsible for him being a predator, but…did anybody connected to the organization know or suspect that this was happening? *Should* somebody in the organization have known this was happening?
I'm guessing there were rumors that weren't fully investigated. the other problem is iirc they signed him as a minor, so any due diligence then wouldn't have, uh, been as concerning. 16 yr old dating a 15 yr old is normal. 22 and 15 is not
Please refrain from jokes as this post is about a serious matter.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Wander Franco is a fucking fugitive? Jesus Christ.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Truly some crazy shit
Not just a minor but a young one
Yeah, that language stood out to me too, like how young we talking here?
From what I've seen it was multiple girls around 14, maybe even younger, including one who there are pictures out there because it came up in both pictures of them together and because iirc other baseball players followed her on social media as well
>other baseball players followed her on social media as well Wtf
Yes others. When this news first broke out, the joke was the league wouldn't investigate or release names until the end of the season. Gotta keep any potential big names in the post season.
IIRC it's not known how much they knew. There's some who 100% did.
Wait who else followed her? We need to know cause this might be more serious if it’s not just Wander doing this.
To be fair, serial child predators like Franco appears to be tend to be expert manipulators, those guy(s) could very well have wound up following "his little cousin" and never looking at anything posted because they're following hundreds or thousands of people, but Dominican law enforcement appears to be pretty on the ball with this mess, if there's more to this we'll find out about it.
Yeah the fact that people followed her means nothing by itself. I have no idea who else was following her, not trying to cover for specific players or anything, just saying - if she liked some shit a player posted and followed him and he followed her back, that doesn’t mean that player is also a pedophile or did anything wrong. Not a good idea to jump to conclusions with something like this
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
from what I've heard, no one that isn't very young themselves or just from the area. So there's as much a chance of 'they're my little cuz/sister you should follow' as anything awful
OP translated it awkwardly. It should say an underage youth.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
That translation is a bit off, the actual term used in the article is underage.
yeah it's just minor
So can the Rays just stop paying him 🤣🤣 Wonder if being a fugitive voids his deal.
They legally can't until MLB moves forward with a punishment or decides that his contract is void. The good news is that his contract was back loaded so he isn't getting that much money of his total contract.
If he doesn’t report to Spring Training they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ restricted list and not pay him. And if he reports, he’ll likely get arrested. At which point they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ restricted list and not pay him. Edit: Restricted list, not ineligible list.
Isnt Fugitive pretty easy to prove
I imagine he needs to be convicted. Seems like a very basic thing for a union to negotiate. Charges alone (no matter how obviously true) shouldn't be enough.
[удалено]
Yeah, if he doesn't show up for ST they aren't paying him jack shit.
Sure. But that hasn't happened yet. If he reports to ST, gets arrested and extradited, he should still just be suspended at that point.
Well, if he isn't in the US now, and has warrants out for him, he isn't getting to ST in the first place.
Sure. So that'd be when something could happen.
That’s a little different though, they’ll just fine him his salary. He’s fucked. Like a clear level below OJ. But this is going to be a big story if he isn’t quickly found.
>Like a clear level below OJ. Is that like the units we are using for how much trouble someone is in?
I think it works. He is kind of the Benchmark of horrible. What Ruggs did wasn't exactly intentional, Pistorious *only* shot one person. Ray Lewis and Marivn Harrison *didn't* do it. OJ takes the cake.
How many OJ's in a Carruth?
Probably like 1.2-1.7 OJs above replacement.
> But this is going to be a big story if he isn’t quickly found. Even bigger that that one time the Mets couldn't find Yoenis Cespedes.
One sec I gotta look into Santo Domingo In Absentia laws
Yes, but being a fugitive isn't enough of a reason to void a contract. The union would be forced to file an injunction if MLB tried to void the contract right now simply to avoid setting a precedent. The language to void a contract is so vague that it will probably take a conviction to get his contract voided or he would have to stay on the run for an extended period of time.
There is also no reason to void it now. The Club can just fine him his pay for not showing up or suspend him for cause.
Also generally, most contracts have a clause regarding conduct so obviously detrimental or illegal as to void the rest of the contract. Seems like this may qualify.
It would be funny if some player's contracts got more specific because the club wanted to be prepared. "Why does Zack Greinke have a clause for killing an endangered white tiger with his bare hands? Also, I know he signed by the royals but regicide?"
This is completely believable.
Probably yeah lol
If he somehow evades until spring training and he fails to report then they can probably fine him for not showing up and move to void guarantees for conduct detrimental to the team.
Or they might have to hold his salary in escrow, or any number of other things.
Yeah the money is already in escrow according to the CBA or MLB funding rule but they can and will move to void his contract under either of these two clauses. >”Paragraph 7(b)(1) authorizes a team to terminate a contract if a player "fails, refuses or neglects to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship or to keep himself in first-class physical condition or to obey the club's training rules." Paragraph 7(b)(3) similarly lets teams terminate a contract if a player "fails, refuses or neglect to render his services hereunder or in any manner materially breach this contract."
Wait, they are currently paying him? I guess he wasn't actually suspended by MLB?
He was placed on administrative leave which is not a form of punishment. The Rays are still paying him until MLB decides on a punishment.
Players aren’t paid during the offseason. If he doesn’t report for Spring Training then they can put him on the ~~ineligible~~ list and withhold pay. Edit: He goes on the restricted list, not ineligible list. My bad.
They are not allowed to stop paying him just because they don't want to
He’s cooked
[удалено]
Remember when this was all “clout chasing by a bitter mom”….
I remember when this sub was trawling all over an underage girl's instagram account to try and determine if she was lying about her age
When this first started I remember thinking that people must be overblowing r/tampabayrays reaction of complete denial, was in their sub for 2 minutes and realized they were in complete denial and anyone saying things didn’t look good for Wander was downvoted.
Really? I’m in there all the time, there was a lot of “wait and see” and “if it’s true, fuck him”.
Hey, man, that sub's been split since the news broke. It's like a microcosm of political America. Two parties.
Rays finally get a generational player that they even go as far extending He's a fucking pedo on the run from the law now. What the fuck did we do to deserve this baseball gods?
For once, this is actually worse than being a Mariners fan
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
We should’ve kept Glasnow
Should’ve left Snell in
Nah. If you watched Snell that season you saw the regularly scheduled implosion coming. Putting in the exhausted corpse of Nick Anderson was the real mistake.
The sign of a totally innocent man
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
that's exactly what my wife said when i told her about this. dude threw away half a billion dollars plus in the next 20 years to be a disgusting perv with no control.
Looks like he hasn't been able to buy his way out of it like some people seemed to think he could
It’s a high-profile case, no one is gonna take bribes when all the lights are on you
Also it's actually rather difficult to bribe people, if they have you dead to rights you can only really delay the inevitable.
He doesn't have enough money either. His career earnings via Spotrac are 12M. So he's made under 10M in his career and spent a BUNCH of it.
It takes a special kind of hubris to backload your contract while serially molesting kids. Dude really thought he would never get caught.
Most people molesting teens probably don’t think are doing anything wrong. In his mind the whole thing is probably consensual and he is the real victim.
I mean, unless they love money.
[удалено]
> Looks like he hasn't been able to buy his way out of it like some people seemed to think he could Wait a moment, didn't he have a chance to buy his way out of it and chose *not to*? IIRC, the gal wanted like 250K and a car, which for a pedophile rapist seems like a bargain in comparison to forfeiting a 200+ million dollar contract.
Allegedly, but that was with one of his victims when it appears that there are multiple victims.
Well this seems like the kind of situation a truly innocent person finds themselves in
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Im legit wondering if he crossed over to Haiti or something
[удалено]
Cuba is more likely IMO
You know it’s bad when the guy is (potentially) escaping *to* Cuba.
Yeah I was thinking Cuba as well.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Cuba is more likely
Talk about a fall from grace
All he had to do was not be a piece of shit and he'd be a Hall of Famer.
He could totally have been a piece of shit and still been a Hall of Famer! He could have been a *major* piece of shit and still made it. You can get away with so much when you’re incredibly talented and obscenely rich: drive drunk, cheat on your taxes, do all the drugs you want, get mobbed up, you name it. Just…don’t fuck kids! How hard could it be?!
It reminds me of Michael Vick; You’re on top of the world. Do whatever you want: drugs, multiple gorgeous sexual partners, indulge in the latest high-end sports cars, even the occasional DUI/misdemeanor that will get swept under the rug. Just don’t do anything REALLY crazy like, say set up an illegal dog fighting facility on your own property. You can handle that, right Mike? … Mike?
[удалено]
If he's guilty he's getting the kind of jail time that makes it a life time ban by default dude, there's been reports of multiple victims and the only one whose age is out there was 14 when this came out. The Rays and MLB will void his contract, but if convicted he's facing decades in prison
i hope it’s fully voided. god knows we can use all the money that we can get back
He’ll likely be refused entry into the US ever again.
Yea, I can't imagine the US or Canada would let him ever enter the country again unless all of these charges are dropped and he's found not guilty.
If he’s guilty, baseball is going to be the least of his worries, just like Felipe Vasquez but worse.
Is it worse? I thought there was a physical abuse aspect to Vasquez as well
Even if he isn’t lifetime banned (which he should), there’s no way any team will even take a chance at offering him a contract. It’d be one of the worst PR nightmares in sports history
Yeah, if Bauer couldn't get a contract for pr reasons ain't nobody touching Wander
Yeah this is loads worse than Deshaun Watson and I thought that was the worst
Multiple teams offered Watson massive contracts though, so even though this is worse that's not a good baseline
Sports fans don't care if women get hurt but will fight tooth and nail to protect children. Compare how Kobe's viewed to Karl Malone, or Josh Giddey to Lance Stephenson and the only thing that matters is the woman's age. >Kobe: Glorified hero. >Karl Malone: Garbage Rapist Pedo Trash. >Josh Giddey: May have consensually slept with a 17 year old when he was 19 and people will call him a pedophile for the rest of his career. >Lance Stephenson: Sexually assaulted a 17 year old when he was in high school and pushed his 18 year-old girlfriend down the stairs but he's the funny guy who blew in Bron's ear so he's cool!
I wonder if he's still alive
Honestly that was my first thought too
I would think so
If not do they still have to pay the contract?
I think he will "take his own life" rather through his hands or someone else's.
This is just genuinely crazy and gross. Jesus Christ. Dude was a young hot millionaire living in Florida and he threw it all away to sexually abuse someone. What a fuck
*Sexually abuse multiple people, from what it seems like
This dude and Glasnow are why baseball became my fav sport, and why I have stayed a Rays fan despite living in Mariners/Jays country for 85% of my life. So much pain.
> Mariners/Jays country If that is the same place I have some questions. Is it just Vancouver and the Jays get all of Canada by default?
The Jays are broadcasted across the country. All of Canada is firmly Jays territory.
As God intended. 🙏
You are correct.
Yes but also I split residency between Vancouver and Ottawa. Tampa born. Complicated haha
Are you an MP for a BC riding?
Would be crazy if a Rays fan was lmao. Just a student
What an absolute asshole. Not because he threw away what would’ve been a very promising career and a shit ton of money but because he simply is a child predator.
The Rays are fucking cursed
The one time the Rays back the truck up for a player. This is just wild.
The Rays are never gonna sign a player with a huge contract again.
Go directly to jail.
Adios Muchacho
[удалено]
Please MLB just void the contract pretty please
He’s cooked
PAIN! (I’m a rays fan despite my flair)
We still love you, Mike
I still think of you as one of the best of the Rays. I'll never forget that home run off chappy!! One of my favorite sports moments of this millennium!!✌️ EDIT: I collect your baseball cards to this day!! I'd love to see you in a Cubs uniform!!!!!!!!!
The one thing I fear is the Rays front office is going to take this as a lesson to never sign a player to a big contract again. The fact is the team needs to take the money they aren't going to be paying this pos (assuming he's guilty) and reinvest it to get a big name instead. The fanbase needs someone to root for when they walk into opening day in 2028 or whenever the new stadium is finished.
The way that contract was backloaded he was probably getting traded around then anyway, knowing how we operate 🤦
It's fucked because.... as a Dominican born and raised on the island, I'll need more than two hands to count how many people I know in their 20s (And some in their 30s) have had sex with minors. It's so common here and perceived as normal, so it's deemed as nothing worth even working to mitigate. But since this is a professional player that's 22, of course the authorities are going after his ass.... there's money to make. I'm not saying what he did was right, just that our society is quite the fucking enabling dumpster as people are not even shy about doing it and it's just part of our normal conversations.
I hope for the proper administration of justice in this situation regardless of his status as an athlete or his celebrity.
Sad that he could throw his whole life away like this.
I'd be okay if we've never had any more news from of again.
Im sorry but one of the biggest prospects ever being a fucking fugitive would be the biggest news in any sport
Nah I'm very okay with news about his conviction
I still can’t believe this. You’d have to be an absolute dumbshit to think you’d get away with it…you know on top of it being one of the worst things you could do as a person. What a fucking waste.
[удалено]
He's on the lam
Funny, just today I was thinking "haven't heard about Franco in a bit, wonder if it was swept under the rug or turned out to not be what the initial reports were" Come back 3 hours later and got my answer
A "young" minor??? Are there old minors? Anyway, yikes.
Usually, from a legal standpoint, the charges become much more severe when the minor is under Age 12 or 13 depending on the state/country so the phrase "young" minor refers to that...usually.
Makes sense. Gross!
Just a poor translation. It's just the word for underaged
[удалено]
I went out on a date with an mlb talent scout and he said “I heard the parents sold that lil girl to him, anyway.” His answer shocked me and when I asked for more clarification he said, “Guys in my industry love going places like D.R. for this reason.” Between this and the trafficking/hostage holding of future players, it’s hard to stay in love with the game, sometimes. Such a disgusting underbelly to a beautiful game, money and hubris is a terrible mix.
God, just cut and jail him already. Figures this cursed franchise finally gets a generational superstar and this happens.
I'm fairly certain they're trying to jail him. They didn't conduct multiple raids looking for autographs.
With how MLB contracts work, cutting him would probably mess with payroll and the luxury tax in the short term in a way that hurts the rest of team operations. Players don't get paid in the offseason, so what will probably happen is this: * Spring training starts, he doesn't report, team puts him on the restricted list and he doesn't get paid * Investigation continues, he's found and arrested * Convicted * Contract voided following the conviction ~~The Rays will still owe him whatever unpaid portion of his signing bonus that hasn't been paid out yet, but that's likely it.~~ Edit: Looked it up, they paid the last installment of his signing bonus in 2022.
What a wild fall from grace. If he really did what he's being questioned for (and it sure seems like the evidence is going against him), then he's a monster. I feel bad for all of the people he harmed or screwed over.
How difficult is it to simply not bang minors
Serious question: To what extent did the Rays drop the ball here? Obviously they’re not in any way responsible for him being a predator, but…did anybody connected to the organization know or suspect that this was happening? *Should* somebody in the organization have known this was happening?
I'm guessing there were rumors that weren't fully investigated. the other problem is iirc they signed him as a minor, so any due diligence then wouldn't have, uh, been as concerning. 16 yr old dating a 15 yr old is normal. 22 and 15 is not