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Jared Porter was fired as general manager of the New York Mets on Tuesday morning, hours after admitting in a report by ESPN’s Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan that he sent unsolicited sexually explicit footage to a reporter then that he was employed by the Chicago Cubs as a manager. professional scouting in 2016. An explicit image was the final message in a string of 62 consecutive unanswered texts.
“We fired Jared Porter this morning,” Mets owner Steve Cohen announced on Twitter. “In my initial press conference, I spoke about the importance of integrity and I thought so. There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
Porter met the woman in a Yankee Stadium elevator in June 2016 and asked her three times for a drink before the day was over, according to Kimes and Passan. She eventually stopped responding to his texts, but Porter continued to text her anyway, including sending pictures. Learn more about Kimes and Passan, who got screenshots of the posts:
Reached by ESPN on Monday evening, Porter admitted to texting with the woman. He first said he had not sent any photos of himself. When told that the exchanges show he sent selfies and other photos, he said that “the most explicit are not from me. They are images like jokes.”
After asking if ESPN was planning to publish a story, he requested more time before later declining further comments.
Mets president Sandy Alderson issued a statement Monday and said the team “will look into the facts about this serious issue.” Here is his full statement:
“I spoke directly with Jared Porter about the events of 2016 that we were first made aware of this evening. Jared admitted to me his serious error in judgment, took responsibility for his conduct, expressed remorse and has already apologized for his actions.
“The Mets take these matters seriously, expect professional and ethical behavior from all of our employees, and certainly do not tolerate the conduct described in your story. We will follow the facts about this serious issue.”
The woman, who was a foreign correspondent living in the United States to cover baseball, told Kimes and Passan that Porter’s abusive actions were a “tipping point” in her decision to quit the industry. “I started to ask myself, ‘Why do I have to put myself in these situations to make a living? “, Did she say.
In the last offseason, the Mets fired manager Carlos Beltran even before handling a game over his connection to the Astros sign theft scandal. Porter’s actions are much more serious and he acknowledged them to ESPN and Alderson.
Porter, 41, broke into baseball with the Red Sox as an intern in 2004 and remained with Boston until he joined the Cubs in 2015. After two years with the Cubs, Porter joined the Diamondbacks in 2017 and was with Arizona until he was named. Put GM earlier this offseason. Here’s a look at the potential GM candidates for the Mets after Porter’s sudden departure.
Cohen was recently accused of using vulgar language towards female employees and fostering a culture of sexism in his hedge fund in a sex discrimination complaint obtained by the New York Times. Cohen’s investment firm was also accused of hostility towards women in 2018.
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