The Seattle Mariners have decided to terminate the contract of their Director of High Performance, Dr. Lorena Martin, after one season.
Martin has levied claims of racial discrimination against General Manager Jerry Dipoto, Manager Scott Servais and Director of Player Development Andy McKay on her way out the door.
Martin alleges that Dipoto, Servais and McKay made comments questioning the effort and intelligence of the Latin American and Dominican players on their roster.
"The Mariners organization has issues," Martin wrote in posts to her Twitter and instagram accounts. "The things I’ve witnessed first hand have left me shocked, GM Jerry Dipoto, Manager Scott Servais, and Director of PD Andy McKay speak about players like this Calling LATINOS, LAZY, DUMB, and STUPID, especially DOMINICANS #discrimination"
Martin was hired in October 2017 and began her job with the Mariners on November 1, 2017 as the team sought to create a role that catered to coordinating their medical, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental skills departments in an attempt to maximize performance.
"We have spent nearly a year working on creating this position and structure as well as identifying the best person for this role," Dipoto said last October. "Lorena's background, skill set and previous experience make her a perfect match for what we envisioned."
That "perfect match" no longer seems to be the case.
The Mariners responded to Martin's comments in a press release Monday evening.
"Lorena Martin was relieved of her duties with the Mariners on Oct. 10, 2018.
"While it is our policy to not comment on personnel issues, we do feel it is important to respond to the outrageous, false claims made by her today on social media. And to note that Martin did not make any of these false allegations until after she was relieved of her duties.
"The Mariners categorically deny that any member of our management or coaching staff made racist remarks regarding any of our players or staff. Additionally, we have not terminated (or threatened to terminate) any trainers during the off-season."
Are Martin's claims based in truth? Are they just complaints of someone that has been let go by the Mariners? Too little is currently known to accurately understand the situation that Martin's claims to have existed, but they should still be taken seriously until more is known.
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 30: GM Jerry Dipoto of the Seattle Mariners looks on from the dugout prior to the game against the Houston Astros at Safeco Field on September 30, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)