OAKLAND -- An investigation into A's strength and conditioning coach Mike Henriques has concluded and he has rejoined the team, two weeks after he placed a hidden camera within the team's weight room to monitor the recovery of players on the disabled list.
Oakland immediately hired an independent investigator to look into the incident, which reportedly happened July 24. According to a Yahoo! Sports report, Henriques placed a camera within a box in the team's weight room prior to leaving on a road trip to film players working out. It was discovered a day later, and the team suspended Henriques while the investigation was conducted.
"The investigation is complete and we've handled the personnel issue," A's director of corporate communications Catherine Aker said in a statement. "The individual involved is back at work as of [Monday].
Sean Doolittle, the team's MLB Players Association union representative, spoke with the team and Major League Baseball following the incident and throughout the investigation. Doolittle said Henriques has apologized to the team, while also meeting individually with some players and meeting with players on the disabled list.
"In the end, the front office, all the higher-ups in management, decided that based on the findings it was a really, really bad mistake," Doolittle said Wednesday. "Something that was well-intentioned but was very, very poorly misjudged and executed. They felt that a two-week suspension was good. We're just trying to move forward."
Doolittle said he did not want to speculate as to how many players agreed with the team's decision, saying, "We're going to work together as a group on repairing some of that trust that was damaged."
"Whether the players agree or disagree with the ruling, that really doesn't matter," he said. "What matters is being professional and working on repairing those relationships and moving forward together."
The results of the investigation were delivered to the team Monday. Henriques declined to comment while leaving the field during batting practice later that day.
"I think there was some speculation that there would be this juicy conspiracy and that wasn't the case at all," Doolittle said.
"To his credit, he's trying to take responsibility," Doolittle said of Henriques. "He's also holding himself accountable and trying the best he can to repair what was damaged and try to move forward."