What you need to know about Mariano Rivera’s life amid sex abuse allegations, cover up

MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara Rivera were accused of covering up child sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed last week.

The retired New York Yankees star and his wife have not responded to the allegations in court or through media requests as they face a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court that claims they “separately isolated and intimidated (the alleged victim ) to remain silent about her abuse of (the alleged abuser) to avoid causing trouble” for their church.

PEOPLE has reached out to representatives for the Riveras and their church for comment, but has not heard back.

Since Rivera’s baseball career ended in 2013, the 55-year-old former pitcher has become heavily involved in religion, politics and philanthropy — from becoming a pastor at Refuge of Hope Church (where his wife Clara is the church’s senior pastor) to campaigning in support of President Donald Trump Trump.

In light of the recent allegations against him and his wife, here’s what Rivera has been up to since leaving baseball in 2013.

Philanthropy and religion

Rivera’s philanthropic efforts began in the middle of his baseball career and launched Mariano Rivera Foundation in 1998. His eponymous foundation is “dedicated to providing children from impoverished families with life skills that will set them on the path to a brighter future” and donates money to children throughout the United States and in his native Panama through church organizations, primarily helping students prepare for college and get a job afterward.

Many of Rivera’s donations come through church-related organizations or events. Rivera, a devout Christian since he was 21 years old, turned to religion when he was 21 after he became “dissatisfied with the direction” of his life, he told ESPN in 2011.

“I always believe that when the Lord sets His eyes on you, He will stop you from doing things. He will stop you from going the other way,” Rivera told ESPN in 2013. “Am I perfect? ​​No, I’m not even close to perfect. But you know what, I love to do good for others. I love to make other people happy.”

A year later, the Associated Press reported that Rivera bought a 107-year-old church in New Rochelle, New York, and put $3 million in renovations into it through his foundation. The church, which became the official home of the Riveras’ Refuge of Hope church, is at the center of allegations last week against Rivera and his wife Clara, who became the church’s senior pastor after it opened.

Cooperstown and the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Rivera achieved baseball’s highest honor in 2019 when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The game’s all-time leader in saves, Rivera became—and remains—the only player in baseball history to be recorded unanimously. Rivera won five World Series titles with the Yankees during his 19-year MLB career and was named to the All-Star Game a total of 13 times.

Rivera was also recognized by the White House in 2019 when Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly after his hall of fame induction.

“Mariano Rivera has made extraordinary contributions to American sports, culture and society,” Trump said during the ceremony. “He is the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball history. And more than that, he has lived the American dream and shines as an example of American greatness for all to see.”

Politics

Rivera and Trump’s friendship dates back to their time as two of the biggest celebrity names in New York City in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Despite backlash against Rivera’s jabs at Trump during the 2016 and 2020 elections, the retired pitcher has defended his support for the disgraced president.

“He was a friend of mine before he became president,” Rivera said in 2019, according to Sports Illustrated, in response to a column that accused him of being friends with a “racist” president. “So, because he’s president, am I going to turn my back on him? No. I respect him. I respect what he’s doing and I think he’s doing what’s best for the United States.”

Trump returned Rivera’s loyalty, awarding the retired pitcher the Medal of Freedom and appointing him to numerous government posts—from serving on the Opioid and Substance Abuse Commission to being named co-chairman of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Rivera again endorsed Trump in 2024, saying once again that his decision was simply because of their friendship.

“President Trump, he’s my friend,” Rivera told Fox News last April. “I can’t deny that. I’m going to tell somebody. Before he was president, he was my friend. That’s why I’m going to vote for him.”

Controversies and lawsuits

Prior to last week’s allegations that he and his wife covered up a child sexual abuse scandal at their church, Rivera flirted with another fall from grace in 2019 when he was named in a lawsuit alleging that he had two children out of wedlock that he stopped paying for. child support.

Rivera denied the allegations, which ESPN reported was made by a woman in his native Panama who claimed he stopped paying child support in 2017 for two children who were 11 and 15 years old at the time of the lawsuit.

“He stopped paying for things for his children and put them in a financial crisis,” the woman’s lawyer alleged at the time, according to ESPN. The two sides eventually settled.

Rivera has three children with his wife Clara: Mariano Rivera III, Jaziel Rivera and Jafet Rivera.

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Last week’s lawsuit alleged that Rivera and his wife both “separately” spoke with the child who was allegedly abused while on a summer camp trip through their Refuge of Hope church and again at a barbecue at the Riveras’ New York home. The couple is accused of “trimming” the alleged victim “into silence” about the allegations to protect their church and its summer program.

The complaint alleges that the Riveras “falsely promoted their operations and premises as being safe, moral and otherwise free of a risk of harm when they knew or should have known otherwise.” The plaintiff is seeking a jury trial.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.