New York Mets Fire General Manager Jared Porter After ‘Actions…Failed To Meet The Mets’ Standards For Professionalism And Personal Conduct’
The New York Mets hired a new general manager on December 13 per the MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. On January 19, just over a month later, they fired him.
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“The New York Mets have terminated general manager Jared Porter, effective immediately,” Sandy Alderson, Mets’ president, said in a statement. “Jared’s actions, as reflected by events disclosed last night (January 18), failed to meet the Mets’ standards for professionalism and personal conduct.”
According to MLB.com, “less than eight hours after an ESPN report revealed that Mets general manager Jared Porter had sent inappropriate text messages to a female reporter, the Mets…fired Porter.”
That ESPN report by Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan detailed what transpired as Porter allegedly “sent explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016…according to a copy of the text history obtained by ESPN. The woman, a foreign correspondent who had moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball, said at one point she ignored more than 60 messages from Porter before he sent the final lewd photo.”
Here’s what Mets owner Steven Cohen had to say:
“We have terminated Jared Porter this morning (January 19),” Cohen said in a Twitter post. “In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it.There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
ESPN went on to state that “The text relationship started casually before Porter, then the Chicago Cubs director of professional scouting, began complimenting her appearance, inviting her to meet him in various cities and asking why she was ignoring him. And the texts show she had stopped responding to Porter after he sent a photo of pants featuring a bulge in the groin area.”
The MLB is “launching an investigation into Porter’s conduct, according to a person with knowledge of the situation” per MLB.com.
Also worth noting is that the ESPN report said “in December 2017, ESPN obtained the messages after being alerted to their existence by a baseball source. ESPN reached out to the woman, interviewed her and was prepared to report about the allegations but did not do so after the woman concluded her career would be harmed if the story emerged”.
First of all, it’s so messed up that a woman has to fear retribution for coming forth with accusations as an alleged victim.
Second, there needs to be accountability for people, and in particular executives, who abuse their power or intimidate women, minorities, or anyone for that matter. No one should have to go to work in fear. And no one should have to fear getting retaliated against for standing up for yourself.
Third, there should be safe, healthy work environments where this type of immature, demeaning, crude, and wrong behavior isn’t tolerated. Period.
So many people seem to agree:
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