Dodgers' Justin Turner 'Chose To Disregard' COVID Guidelines By Celebrating World Series Win: MLB
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Dodgers third-baseman Justin Turner refused to comply with security after the Dodgers won the World Series despite being placed in isolation following his removal from the World Series game due to a positive COVID-19 test, Major League Baseball officials said Wednesday.
In a statement issued just hours after Los Angeles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays for the franchise's seventh title, league officials said Turner "chose to disregard the agreed-upon joint protocols and the instructions he was given regarding the safety and protection of others" after he was removed from the game.
Confirming an earlier report, MLB officials say security asked Turner to leave the field, but "he emphatically refused to comply."
"While a desire to celebrate is understandable, Turner's decision to leave isolation and enter the
field was wrong and put everyone he came in contact with at risk," the statement said.
Both teams were undergoing additional COVID testing Wednesday ``and their travel back to their home cities will be determined after being approved by the appropriate authorities," officials added.
A "full investigation into this matter" was underway, according to the league.
But on Wednesday night, some of Turner's teammates were coming to his defense.
"He's part of the team," Mookie Betts said. "We can't, we're not excluding him from anything."