NEW YORK (AP) _ New York Mets general manager Jared Porter was fired Tuesday
after sending graphic, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter
in 2016 when he was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office.
Mets owner Steve Cohen said Porter was fired Tuesday morning.
``We have terminated Jared Porter this morning,'' Cohen wrote on Twitter. ``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.''
The accusations against Porter were reported by ESPN on Monday night.
Porter sent dozens of unanswered texts to the woman, including a picture of
``an erect, naked penis,'' according to the report. ESPN said it obtained a copy
of the text history.
New York hired the 41-year-old Porter last month. He agreed to a four-year
contract after spending the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks as
senior vice president and assistant general manager.
``I have spoken directly with Jared Porter regarding events that took place in
2016 of which we were made aware tonight for the first time. Jared has
acknowledged to me his serious error in judgment, has taken responsibility for
his conduct, has expressed remorse, and has previously apologized for his
actions,`` Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement.
``The Mets take these matters seriously, expect professional and ethical
behavior from all of our employees, and certainly do not condone the conduct
described in (the ESPN) story. We will follow up as we review the facts
regarding this serious issue.''
The woman was not identified in the report. ESPN said she recently chose to
come forward only on condition of anonymity because she is afraid of backlash in
her home country.
ESPN said the woman was a foreign correspondent who had moved to the United
States to cover Major League Baseball. She met Porter in a Yankee Stadium
elevator in June 2016, and she said they spoke briefly about international
baseball and exchanged business cards. She told ESPN that was the only time they
ever spoke.
After text exchanges that began casually, Porter started complimenting her
looks, inviting her to meet him in different cities and asking why she was
ignoring him, ESPN said.
After he sent her a lewd picture, the woman ignored more than 60 messages from
Porter before he sent the last vulgar photo, according to ESPN. The woman told
ESPN she intentionally tried to avoid him at a couple of big league ballparks
and the texts from Porter ultimately contributed to her decision to leave the
journalism industry and return to her home country.
Porter texted apologies to the woman in 2016 after she saw the naked picture
and wrote to him that his messages were ``extremely inappropriate, very
offensive, and getting out of line,'' ESPN reported.
ESPN said it contacted Porter on Monday evening, and he acknowledged texting
with the woman. At first, he said he hadn't sent any pictures of himself, but
when informed the exchanges show he sent selfies and other pictures, he said
``the more explicit ones are not of me. Those are like, kinda like joke-stock
images,'' ESPN reported.
After asking whether the outlet intended to run a story, Porter requested more
time before later declining further comment, ESPN said.
It's another embarrassing development for the Mets, who have energized fans by
acquiring star shortstop Francisco Lindor and several other notable players
since Cohen purchased the club from the Wilpon and Katz families for $2.42
billion in early November.
Last offseason, under previous GM Brodie Van Wagenen, the Mets hired former
slugger Carlos Beltran as manager only to cut ties with him 2 1/2 months later
when he was implicated in MLB's investigation of illegal sign stealing by
Houston while Beltran was an Astros player in 2017.
Beltran was let go by the Mets _ without managing a single game _ just more
than a year ago on Jan. 16, 2020, following a tenure that lasted 77 days. ESPN's
report was posted online 37 days after Porter was introduced as GM of the Mets,
a role he called ``a dream job'' but one that certainly appears in serious
jeopardy now.
``Jared has proven himself at every level and in every position he has held,
earning respect from his peers throughout baseball,'' Alderson said in a
statement when Porter was hired.
Before his Diamondbacks tenure, Porter worked under Theo Epstein with the
Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, winning three World Series championships in
Boston's front office and another with the Cubs. ESPN said he was the Cubs'
director of professional scouting when he sent the messages to the woman.
Not fully familiar with the English language and American culture, the woman
received help from an interpreter in constructing a message to Porter asking him
to ``please stop sending offensive photos'' or messages. He apologized by text
multiple times and said he would stop, ESPN reported.
ESPN said it interviewed three other people who said they saw or were told
about the texts at the time.
The woman eventually informed her bosses and was connected in 2016 with a
lawyer and a Cubs employee from her home country, ESPN reported. She didn't want
to identify the employee publicly because she feared retribution, according to
ESPN.
She said the Cubs employee told her Porter wanted to apologize in person, but
she didn't want to see him. She said the employee pressed her repeatedly on
whether she planned to file a lawsuit against Porter and months later got angry
when she saw the employee at spring training in 2017 and said she was still
considering it, ESPN reported.
ESPN said the employee confirmed Monday he discussed the situation with Porter
and the woman, but denied getting angry. The woman did not pursue legal action
and told ESPN she doesn't plan to.
``This story came to our attention tonight and we are not aware of this
incident ever being reported to the organization,'' the Cubs said in a statement
given to ESPN late Monday.
``Had we been notified, we would have taken swift action as the alleged
behavior is in violation of our code of conduct,'' the club said. ``While these
two individuals are no longer with the organization, we take issues of sexual
harassment seriously and plan to investigate the matter.''
New York quickly turned last winter from Beltran to quality control coach Luis
Rojas, who managed the Mets to a 26-34 record during the pandemic-shortened 2020
season. They finished tied with Washington for last in the NL East and missed
the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Rojas is set to return this season.
Cohen brought back Alderson, the Mets' general manager from 2010-18, as team
president and he immediately fired Van Wagenen and several of his top
front-office aides.
The team initially sought to hire a president of baseball operations but
changed course when it was unable to attain permission to interview several
candidates around the majors and at least one did not want to move to New York.
Instead, the 73-year-old Alderson has taken over baseball operations, and the
idea was for Porter to potentially grow into that role while reporting to
Alderson.
``I think what we've talked about the most is just a cultural shift, for one,``
Porter said when introduced as GM last month. ``Adding good people to the
organization. Improving on the organizational culture.''
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