Former Braves GM John Coppolella's Lifetime MLB Ban Reversed 5 Years After Decision

Former Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has had his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball overturned.

MLB's confirmed Coppolella's reinstatement on Monday.

"We can confirm that Mr. Coppolella has been reinstated, given the more than five years he spent on the ineligible list, the contrition he expressed and the other steps he took in response to this matter," the league said in a statement.

Coppolella was placed on MLB's permanently ineligible list in November 2017 for violating international signing rules.

Coppolella provided a written statement about his reinstatement to The Athletic's Jayson Stark:

"I want to thank Commissioner Manfred for granting my application for removal from the Ineligible List. I am deeply appreciative of so many people who have been involved in this process, including (executive vice president of legal and operations) Bryan Seeley and (senior vice president of investigations and deputy general counsel) Moira Weinberg at Major League Baseball.

"I deeply regret and accept accountability for my actions. I want to again apologize to the Atlanta Braves organization, Major League Baseball, its fans, and especially my family and friends. I am grateful for this decision and will strive each day to honor this opportunity."

MLB's investigation determined the Braves circumvented international signing rules between 2015-17.

Among the violations found were giving extra signing bonus money to one player considered a foreign professional under baseball's rules, and having the funds redistributed to five other players between 2015-16.

If the spending had been counted for all six players, the Braves would have exceeded their international bonus pool by more than five percent. League rules restrict teams from signing players to bonuses of more than $300,000 in the next international signing period if they go over their allotted amount by more than five percent.

As a result of the investigation, nine players signed by Atlanta had their contracts voided because they would have been ineligible to sign under MLB's rules.

Gordon Blakeley, former Braves special assistant and international scouting supervisor, received a one-year ban due to the violations.

Coppolella began working in Atlanta's front office in 2006 when he was hired as director of baseball operations. The 44-year-old spent time as the team's director of professional scouting and assistant general manager.

The Braves promoted Coppolella to general manager in October 2015. He resigned two years later amid MLB's investigation.