(670 The Score) While being introduced in his new position Thursday, White Sox senior vice president/general manager Chris Getz addressed the organization's handling of a sexual harassment scandal under his watch that centered on former Double-A Birmingham Barons manager Omar Vizquel’s conduct.
In a civil lawsuit filed in 2021, an autistic man who was a bat boy for Birmingham accused Vizquel of sexual misconduct in 2019, with the suit alleging that Vizquel exposed his penis to the man and forced him to wash his back in the shower, ESPN reported. In November 2019, the White Sox parted ways with Vizquel. In doing so, Getz – who has been in charge of the White Sox’s minor league system for the past seven years – praised Vizquel’s work and called him a “positive influence” in comments to MLB.com.
In 2022, a settlement was reached in the case, according to reports. On Thursday, Getz addressed the matter in a general manner, though he wasn’t asked about the “positive influence” comment.
“Those are personnel matters that I certainly don’t want to go too far in depth on,” Getz said. “I will say I was very proud with our organization on how it was handled. We have extensive training – both players and staff – to prevent issues from popping up from time to time. And when they do, they know how to act accordingly. And in those cases, they did.”
In parting ways with Vizquel in late 2019, Getz at the time called it an amicable ending.
"We felt that it was best for both sides to make a change,” Getz told MLB.com back then.
"Listen, Omar, ultra-talented player, very good instructor, created a good environment for our players. We just felt with where things are at, our player development system, that it was time to go separate ways. But not only for himself, but for the organization as well and we wish Omar well. He was a positive influence while he was here."
Also in 2022, Triple-A Charlotte manager Wes Helms was removed from his job by the White Sox. Helms was a bench coach for Vizquel at Double-A in 2019. The lawsuit alleged that Helms knew about the sexual harassment of the bat boy and mocked him.