Over a dozen former Major League Baseball scouts have initiated legal action against the league, its teams, and Commissioner Rob Manfred, alleging age discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, involves 17 former scouts ranging in age from 55 to 71. They claim that between 2020 and 2022, the league systematically prevented or refused to rehire older scouts, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and related state laws.
The plaintiffs further contend that the league's decision to discontinue the MLB Scouting Bureau in 2018 and its reliance on analytics during the pandemic were pretexts for eliminating older scouts. They also challenge an MLB provision that offsets scouts' salaries when they are hired by a new team while still receiving severance pay from a previous team as discriminatory. Lead plaintiff James S. Benedict, a former scout for various teams including the Chicago Cubs, where he served as special assistant to baseball operations until his dismissal in 2020, seeks class-action certification.
MLB has stated it will contest the claims in court but declined further comment on the pending litigation. The scouts' legal representation emphasized that the lawsuit highlights age discrimination within a sport that ostensibly values its history and tradition.
