NY Yankees Exec Jessica Steinbrenner Seeks Restraining Order Against Ex-Husband

TAMPA, FL — Jessica Steinbrenner, daughter of the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, is seeking a restraining order against her ex-husband, Felix M. Lopez Jr., according to a petition filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Steinbrenner says in the petition that Lopez, 63, has texted her, left voicemails on her phone and made visits to her Tampa home. Patch.com obtained a copy of the petition Friday afternoon.

The couple has a no-contact clause as part of their divorce settlement that was final on Feb. 7. Steinbrenner, a top executive with the Yankees, said in the petition that Lopez approached her at a CVS store on Henderson Boulevard in Tampa on Aug. 24. The petition says that when she reminded him of the no-contact order, Lopez told her: "No contact means nothing. What are they going to do to me?"

Steinbrenner says in the petition that when she returned from a trip to New York on Sept. 5, Lopez showed up at her home two minutes after she got home, knocking on her door. She did not answer. Security footage shows Lopez walking around to the back of the house and looking through windows; he stood in spots hidden from the peek hole to avoid a camera, the petition said.

On Sept. 14, the petition says Lopez drove his car alongside Steinbrenner's vehicle while she dropped off her daughter at her daughter’s home. He tried to talk to her but when Steinbrenner asked, “What do you want,” he responded, “nothing,” and drove away, the petition said.

(Click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Steinbrenner is asking for a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence to be in place before the scheduled hearing on the matter.

The complaint says that Lopez "owns, has, and/or is known to have guns or other weapons." The document also says he has a “history of mental problems” and has “previously threatened, harassed or stalked” Steinbrenner.

She is asking that her former husband be prohibited from going within 500 feet of her home, the Yankees' spring training field in Tampa and the Steinbrenners’ thoroughbred stables in Ocala.

Lopez could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Lopez was a Yankees senior vice president from 2005-09. He then became an executive vice president. He was in charge of daily operations at the team's spring training home and minor league complex in Tampa.

Steinbrenner and Lopez married in 2004. Steinbrenner filed for a dissolution of marriage in July 2016 and a judge entered a final dissolution order on Feb. 7.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PHOTO: New York Yankees Vice Chairperson Jessica Steinbrenner, right, sits with her father, Yankees chairman and principal owner George Steinbrenner in the family's personal box during the Yankees spring training baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., Saturday, March 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)