Astros fire executive following outburst at female reporters
>> HOUSTON: The Houston Astros have fired an executive who taunted a group of female reporters about a member of the team who had been banned for domestic violence, the Major League Baseball franchise announced on Thursday.
In a statement, the Astros said the team had sacked assistant general manager Brandon Taubman after an investigation found he had targeted one or more journalists during a bizarre locker room rant last Saturday.
“We have terminated Brandon Taubman’s employment with the Houston Astros,” the team said.
“His conduct does not reflect the values of our organisation and we believe this is the most appropriate course of action.”
Taubman had admitted yelling support for relief pitcher Roberto Osuna as the Astros celebrated beating the New York Yankees to win the American League crown.
The Astros trail Washington 2-0 in the World Series.
According to Sports Illustrated, Taubman had turned, unprompted, to the women — one of whom was wearing a domestic violence awareness bracelet — and yelled six times: “Thank God we got Osuna. I’m so fucking glad we got Osuna.”
Another Astros team staffer later apologised for the rant.
Astros president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow said Taubman’s behaviour “was inappropriate and not representative of who the Astros are and our culture and what we stand for.”
He also said the team was wrong in an initial statement describing Taubman’s actions as being supportive of Osuna while he faced tough questions over his play — when other reporters confirmed no such situation existed when Taubman’s rant began.