Grievance Is Filed by Union Against Ueberroth

Donald Fehr, the executive director of the Major League Players Assn., said Friday that the union has filed a grievance, challenging the penalties that Commissioner Peter Ueberroth levied against 23 players as a result of his investigation into last summer’s Pittsburgh drug trials.

Although all of the players have agreed to abide by Ueberroth’s ruling, Fehr said the union “obviously has the right to file a grievance in its own name with respect to certain things.”

Fehr was not specific, but said, “With most of the people that the commissioner took issue against, he himself said it wasn’t a disciplinary action, and we clearly have the right to challenge that.”

He also implied that Ueberroth might have overstepped his jurisdiction, saying that if any of the incidents for which the players were penalized occurred before or during the life of the since-abandoned joint drug agreement, then Ueberroth could take no action other than that provided for in the agreement.

Barry Rona, legal counsel to the owners’ Player Relations Committee, said the grievance violated players’ rights since the players had already agreed to the ruling.