Oakland Athletics strength and conditioning coach Michael Henriques is under investigation by Major League Baseball for reportedly spying on players and personnel.
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, Henriques admitted to installing a hidden camera in the weight room at Oakland Coliseum "to observe players working out and rehabilitating injuries while the team traveled."
Brown added that MLB, the MLB Department of Investigations and the MLB Players Association were monitoring the investigation. An independent law firm hired by the team is scheduled to present its findings to the players on Monday.
Brown, citing sources, noted that findings in the investigation concluded Henriques installed the camera on July 24. An unnamed player discovered it "inside a box the following afternoon and notified Sean Doolittle, the team’s union representative, who took the camera to team management."
A's executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane notified MLB about the camera. Sources said he was "furious" and that he "suggested to MLB an independent law firm would be hired to determine the source of the camera and how the club would proceed legally."
Per the report, Beane said Henriques' "intentions were good [but] his judgment was very poor.”
Brown noted that Henriques "would be allowed to continue as the team’s strength and condition coach in a probationary capacity, as his actions were not deemed to be malicious."
Brown wrote that a past request by an MLB team to get permission to install cameras because it suspected items were being stolen from the clubhouse was denied because of privacy concerns, and that any use of cameras in certain areas was a collective bargaining issue.
Henriques has been with the A's since 2010 when he took over as the minor league strength and conditioning coordinator before joining the major league team on an interim basis in May 2011. Oakland hired him on a permanent basis five months later.
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