The letter, from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, supposedly is in reference to an incident in 2017 between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, nj.com reported.

The incident reportedly involved an Apple Watch used by the Red Sox to transmit signs to players. The Red Sox were fined, nj.com reported, and so were the Yankees for improperly using a phone in the dugout. However, the letter supposedly shows that the Yankees did more than that.

The letter became a focus as part of a lawsuit brought against MLB, the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox by DraftKings users, according to CBSSports.com. The suit alleged that users of the betting site might have lost money when those two teams might have cheated, illegally stealing signs.

The suit was dismissed in April of 2020, nj.com reported. On Monday, the court upheld that decision to dismiss the lawsuit. However, both teams were ultimately fined and punished by MLB for their part in the illegal sign-stealing operation.

But the letter from Manfred to Cashman, the plaintiffs in the DraftKings lawsuit argued, shows that the commissioner was not forthcoming on the issue of sign stealing.

The Athletic reported that the plaintiffs stated a public press release, punishing the Yankees and the Red Sox for the 2017 incident, does not tell the full story. They believe that the letter from Manfred to Cashman is likely to show differences than what had been previously mentioned publicly.

The letter supposedly shows that the Yankees did more than improperly use a phone in the dugout. The Yankees argued that the letter should remain private, according to The Athletic.

Yankees President Randy Levine, looking to keep the letter private, at the time said its release would harm the team’s reputation.

But in issuing the ruling Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals made it clear that it is not buying that argument.

“That argument, however, carries little weight,” the court wrote in its ruling, according to The Athletic. “Disclosure of the document will allow the public to independently assess MLB’s conclusion regarding the internal investigation [as articulated to the Yankees], and the Yankees are fully capable of disseminating their own views regarding the actual content of the Yankees Letter.

“In short, any purported distortions regarding the content of the Yankees Letter can be remedied by the widespread availability of the actual content of this judicial document to the public, and the corresponding ability of MLB and the Yankees to publicly comment on it.”

This comes after MLB and the MLB Players Association recently came to an agreement, ending what had been the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history.

After the conclusion of the lockout, the 2022 regular season is set to get underway on April 7, according to MLB.com.

Newsweek reached out to MLB and the Yankees for comment.