Houston GM Luhnow refuses to apologize to female SI reporter
On Thursday, about five days late, the Astros ended their smear campaign against three women who told the truth.
Down 2-0 in the World Series but already holding their third ‘L’ of the week, the AL champs finally decided to accept the obvious — that assistant GM Brandon Taubman bullied a trio of female journalists over their trade for an alleged abuser on the team, that Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated did not fabricate the story, that Taubman’s motive for screaming “I’m so f—king glad we got Osuna” were not holy in God’s sight — and GM Jeff Luhnow owned it.
Well, almost. The long-overdue apology was limited to Taubman’s behavior, not the team-coordinated slander against Apstein. Worse, Luhnow indicated his former subordinate’s actions were a benign tumor, not a cancerous bulge.
“His behavior was inappropriate and not representative of who the Astros are and our culture,” Luhnow said of Taubman. “But this is not something that’s endemic.”
However, like a crisp Correa-AltuveGurriel double-play, Luhnow conceded the slanderous statement was a team effort:
“I know you all are curious to see who wrote it and who approved it. And it was an organizational statement. There was nobody’s name on it. There were a lot of people involved in reviewing it, looking at it, approving it. It was on behalf of the Astros.”
By Luhnow’s admission, plenty of Astros made this news cycle possible. Why didn’t their culture stop this? A healthy organization wouldn’t protect employees pouring gasoline on the fire. And yet, Luhnow insisted he would not name people involved in the statement.
So, we don’t know if Astros owner and chairman Jim Crane — whose organizations have a history of both alleged discrimination against women and attacking reporters — was one of the people involved because Luhnow wouldn’t say. Also, Crane wasn’t there.
“There were many people involved,” Luhnow said. “And I’m not going to get into the details of that.”
The Athletic reported Friday that the original statement was overseen by Anita Sehgal, the team’s senior VP of marketing and communications
If acquiring alleged abusers, flaunting them and trashing a professional’s character and record, all behind the quorum of multiple stakeholders was merely a lapse, then you might expect the Astros — who are known, lauded, lionized, deified, and too often, exonerated for their superior process — would be more transparent about how things went down. But here we are.
If it’s a bug and not a feature, the Astros are the bug that needs to be swatted, curb-stomped and flushed down the toilet to ensure the sucker never crawls again. But in fairness, they are but one exceptional insect in a 30team hive. Their ruthless pursuit of efficiency at all costs is what got them here. Acquiring a top-end closer while saving payroll and prospects because of Roberto Osuna’s fresh domestic violence allegation was a no-brainer for the big brains in Houston.
One could cynically argue the team they beat to even earn the right to, well, harass reporters at their postgame party, did the exact same thing. The Yankees reaped the benefits of the Aroldis Chapman trade three times, and could profit a fourth whether the fireballer continues his career in New York or the team receives a compensatory draft pick if he leaves.
These are the best two teams in the American League. Everyone is playing catch up in their quest to grab the best talent at the lowest price.
Whether it means flagrantly tanking their rosters to get better draft picks, manipulating their star’s service time to delay free agency, using bribes to rack up cheap Latin American talent (and DOJ investigations), or defending a process that routinely misses out on the best high-salary pitching talent — wait, ahh crap, that’s the Yankees again. You get the point, and also, you should expect another long, quiet free agency.
Luhnow’s apology was broad and partial, evasive and rushed, perfectly reflective of the Taubman affair. If there is anything noble about Luhnow’s baseball operations department, it is the rigor and precision they apply to the pursuit of winning. Luhnow’s Astros strive to leave no stone unturned, and they could still win their second title in three years. But the team’s effort disappears when it comes to doing the right thing.
Luhnow told reporters that he had yet to apologize to Apstein directly, citing how busy he was traveling to Washington D.C., and using Thursday morning to have a “tough conversation” with his former protege, “someone that’s worked with me for a long time.”
When Luhnow explained why he made the time for Taubman and not yet Apstein, she was in the conference room to hear it. Doing her job, just like she was on Saturday.