The physician for the Tampa Bay Rays has been fired following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman eight to 10 years ago.
A video uploaded to YouTube by Brianna Rah – a pseudonym – shows the woman discussing her alleged assault at the hands of Michael Reilly, 67, the baseball team’s physician.
Since the video, uploaded on January 17, came to light, he has also resigned from a post at St Petersburg Catholic High School, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
A woman (left) has detailed her alleged assault at the hands of Michael Reilly, the now-former physician for the Tampa Bay Rays. Reilly, a 67-year-old father-of-six, has been fired by the team
The woman’s video, titled The Importance of Sharing My Story of Sexual Abuse, details how when she was 16 years old, she worked in his office part-time while in high school.
She says she knew him from her church and had babysat for his children. Reilly and his wife, Jennifer, have six sons.
He later invited to work with him, seemingly as a sort of office helper.
She says that Reilly ‘put his hand on my hand’ and would later ‘put his hand on my shoulder and lightly rub my back’.
Later, he began to touch her in examination rooms. At this point, she says she quit the company.
But she accepted his invitation eight months later to return, at which point, she says, the abuse only got worse. Regarding her quitting, she said she wondered if she might have been ‘dramatic’.
‘There were times in the office when he would ask for me during hours to come into his office and he would shut the door and try and kiss me,’ she says.
Reilly had been the team’s physician since its inauguration in 1998. The woman, who uploaded the video under the pseudonym Brianna Rah, says he inappropriately touched her and forcibly attempted to kiss her while she was working for him as a teenager
She also says the ‘touching’ got ‘worse’. She declines to give specific details in the video.
Eventually, she says, his behavior prompted her to suffer anxiety attacks.
She began her video characterizing his behavior as ‘grooming’ her, meaning that he used his status as an older man in an effort to take advantage of her emotionally for the purpose of exploiting her sexually.
‘I know he’s done this to other people,’ she said regarding her reason for sharing her story. ‘This person is still active in the community. No one’s come forward. I know he’s done this to other people.’
The woman said: ‘I know he’s done this to other people’
She added: ‘If I have to put my face out there, if it’s going to save another person from being sexually abused from this person, then so be it.’
The Tampa Bay Rays initially suspended Reilly last week after hearing of the video and fired him on Tuesday, January 30.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that players and staff have not made any complaints about Reilly.
The doctor had been with the Tampa Bay Rays ever since their inaugural season in 1998.
Team Vice President John Higgins said in a statement: ‘We have very recently become aware of a video accusing Dr. Reilly of sexually abusing a former employee of his medical practice.
‘We have ended our contractual relationship with him, and we have also alerted the St Petersburg Police Department and Major League Baseball of this situation.’
St Petersburg say they are looking into the allegation.
His office was open today, the Tampa Bay Times reports. He has not commented publicly on the accusation.
The news comes after disgraced pedophile doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to between 40 and 175 years in jail on multiple charges of sexual assault. Nassar, who served as doctor for the USA Gymnastics Team and Michigan State University’s gymnasts, was sentenced in a Michigan court on January 24.