NEW YORK (AP) — A training academy owned by a former American League umpire filed an antitrust lawsuit against minor league baseball and its umpiring company Tuesday, claiming allegations of a racist bowling party were used as a pretext to revoke its accreditation.
The Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring filed the lawsuit in Orlando’s Florida Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial District against the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and the Professional Umpire Development Corp., alleging they are an illegal monopoly and unlawfully restrained trade.
A big league umpire from 1971-99, Evans opened his academy in 1990 in Kissimmee. It was among two accredited ump training facilities, joined by the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School, until minor league baseball opened its own academy last year, The Umpire School in Vero Beach.
