The toxic culture within the Mets under the ownership of Fred and Jeff Wilpon was further demonstrated in the latest reporting by The Athletic, which detailed more inappropriate and discriminatory behavior from high-ranking employees within the organization.
Katie Strang, one of the reporters that detailed the behavior by Joe DeVito (the Mets former executive producer for content and marketing), and David Newman (DeVito's boss), joined Moose & Maggie on Friday morning to discuss the latest on an organization that has been revealed to have several current and former employees accused of inappropriate behavior.
"We have focused some of our reporting on the Mets, and there's a good reason," Strang said. "Though not all these incidents happened while Mets employees were Mets employees, there has been this nexus of common connection with the Mets. We did see this nexus of connection, and we felt it was our responsibility as reporters to pull the lens back and say 'hey, the reality is, all of these higher-profile incidents Jared Porter, Mickey Callaway, Ryan Ellis, those are all people who were at one point Mets employees. Is it worth it to look under the hood to see if there are some deeper, more systemic issues to explain this nexus of connection?'"
Alderson, the Mets team president, is under scrutiny for rehiring Newman, who was accused by employees of making inappropriate comments about women's appearances and decimating against a female employee during and after her pregnancy, despite warnings not to do so. Alderson was also with the Mets during the Wilpon era as general manager, which has led many to question whether he should still be with the team given new owner Steve Cohen's initiative to change the culture within the team, but Strang stressed that the Mets' cultural problems go beyond one member.
"I think that's certainly a fair question, but I also think that's a pretty narrow question," Strang said. "When we talk about culture… I think we talk about it in such an abstract, esoteric sense that we lose sight of what culture is. I think what culture is and what we try to demonstrate in this piece is that it's a steady, gradual accumulation of attitudes and practices and personnel decisions. I think when you evaluate a team's culture and the health of their work environment, I think it's easy to focus on one person…I think that is often sometimes what we do that can be a bit myopic. But I think it's more productive to look at it more structurally, and some of the entrenched systems in place that allow some of these things that we've reported on to happen."
While Aldersen will rightfully receive criticism for bringing Newman back, there is clearly much more work to do to make the Mets a more welcoming work environment for its employees.
"I think people in positions of authority need to be held accountable and examined," Strang said. "I'm sure Sandy Aldersen wouldn't deny the need for that. But I think others within the organization also need to be scrutinized much further."
Cohen won't have to make such a decision with DeVito, who left the team earlier this year, and Strang can't confirm whether accusations of his previous behavior was linked to his departure, but The Athletic's reporting has contributed to bringing more of the organization's dysfunction to light.
"I haven't gotten a sense that that was the case from our reporting, which doesn't mean it's not," Strang said. "I can tell you that in the wake of some of the reporting that has been done about other people involved with the Mets, some women have come forward with concerns about his behavior. I do think when you look at the reckoning that has been happening over the last few months, a lot of it is really depressing and can be really dispiriting. If there's any sort of silver lining, it is in some cases emboldening and empowering people to speak out and seek out accountability, and I think that's what happened here in the case of Joe DeVito."
As for what's next for the team, Cohen has already launched an investigation into workplace culture, and whether his next steps involve removing Alderson or any other personnel changes, Strang recommends lending an ear to those who will still be around, and are committed themselves to improving the conditions around the Mets organization.
"I think the number one thing I think would be important to do is to listen," Strang said. "I would try my hardest to make an honest and open and transparent environment in which employees would feel comfortable to voice their concerns. If they do that, and you create a safe workplace environment where people are comfortable being honest, I think that can help you identify the problems."
Many employees with the Mets have dealt with hardships over the years from prominent employees, including former managers, but a new ownership could help spark optimism that the behavior reported by The Athletic will be stopped. But Strang believes any optimism is cautious at the moment, and hangs on how Cohen handles the reports that have surfaced over the past several months.
"I think it's too soon to tell, to be quite honest," Strang said. "When Steve Cohen came in…he talked about culture and running a team with integrity and professionalism and embracing diversity. I think there were people internally that thought 'hey, this might be a real change here,' and were feeling optimistic and hopeful that this would be a very different feel from how it felt under the previous ownership. I think people saw that optimism and sense of hope take a blow when they saw David Newman rehired, because they felt it was a signal that it might just be more of the same. So I think there's a wait-and-see approach."
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