The Houston Astros are in the awkward spot of having to defend themselves against various lawsuits brought by fans and even a former player about their cheating in 2017.
The Astros filed their response to the first of those lawsuits, this one by daily fantasy sports players who argued in their filing that Houston’s cheating corrupted their games in 2017. The Astros responded by essentially arguing that cheating should be expected to be part of the game.
“It is well established…that attendees or viewers at sporting events have no express or implied right to an event free of penalties, undisclosed injuries, rules violations, cheating, or similar conduct, and claims asserting such a right have been repeatedly dismissed,” the Astros’ brief said, via Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. “Even accepting the Complaint’s allegations as true, the alleged sign-stealing does not in itself render false any statement about the team’s strengths and successes.
“If there is any implied understanding of fans, it is that rule infractions will occur during the games.”
The Astros were also dismissive of claims that the Astros did not perform as well in away games due to not having access to their schemes, citing stats showing the Astros hitting better on the road in 2017 than at home.
MLB and the Boston Red Sox, also named in the lawsuit, largely echoed Houston’s arguments. They also pointed to an appeals court ruling on a lawsuit brought by a New York Jets fan over the New England Patriots’ Spygate allegations which stated that fans cannot sue over alleged cheating.
The Astros are also facing other lawsuits very different than this one, and they’ll likely have to adapt their arguments in each case. However, we’ve probably seen the backbone of their argument here already.
