GM fired for lewd texting
The New York Mets moved swiftly Tuesday to fire new general manager Jared Porter less than 12 hours after ESPN reported he had sent inappropriate text messages and pictures, including one of an erect penis, to a female reporter in 2016.
Mets owner Steve Cohen announced the firing himself in a tweet. Cohen became the Mets’ majority owner in November — promising accountability and integrity for an organization that had often lacked both — while Porter, 41, was hired as GM in December.
“In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it,” Cohen wrote on Twitter. “There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
Major League Baseball plans to open an investigation into Porter’s actions, a person familiar with those plans confirmed Tuesday. That investigation could result in a leaguewide suspension for Porter that would require him to petition for reinstatement if he hoped to work in baseball again.
According to ESPN, Porter began texting the female reporter, whose name it withheld, in 2016, when he was the director of professional scouting for the Chicago Cubs. The stream of texts lasted for months and eventually included pictures, one of which showed a man with a bulge in his pants, and finally, one of a naked, erect penis. At one point, according to ESPN, Porter sent more than 60 messages that went unanswered.
“Jared’s actions, as reflected by events disclosed last night, failed to meet the Mets’ standards for professionalism and personal conduct,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Porter initially told ESPN he did not send the pictures, but when informed there were selfies among the photos, he said: “The explicit ones are not of me. Those are like, kinda jokestock images.” Among the later text messages were attempts by Porter to apologize to the woman.
The woman met Porter in person only once and the two exchanged business cards in a Yankee Stadium elevator in 2016. ESPN obtained the messages in 2017 but it did not report the story because the woman, who is not from the United States and is not fluent in English, feared reprisal from Porter.
“Being alone in a different country made it tougher,” she told ESPN through an interpreter. “I didn’t know who to trust and rely on.”
The woman no longer works in journalism, according to ESPN, and has returned to her home country. In their texts, the woman sent a photo of herself, something she said was not unusual in her country. The two had attempted to meet and as the plans kept falling through, Porter send a flurry of texts. She eventually confided in a player and an interpreter who, according to ESPN, helped her respond.
“This is extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line,” she wrote. “Could you please stop sending offensive photos or msg.”
In successive Januarys, the Mets have now been forced to terminate a manager and a GM before either could preside over a single game in their roles. A year ago, the Mets fired skipper Carlos Beltran only two months into the job after it was revealed he had a major role in the sign-stealing scheme perpetrated by the 2017 Astros, for whom Beltran had been a designated hitter.
Cohen’s takeover of the Mets from the Wilpon family was cast as a new era for a franchise often beset by dysfunction and internal intrigue. However, Cohen was also named in a 2018 lawsuit against the hedge fund for which he served as CEO, Point72 Asset Management, alleging unfair pay practices and a sexist work environment. A settlement was reached, the details of which were not revealed, and a federal court in Manhattan moved the case to arbitration.
The Mets have been among the most aggressive buyers in baseball’s offseason talent marketplace, pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Indians for shortstop Francisco Lindor and signing free agent catcher James McCann to a four-year, $40.6 million contract.
It is unclear whether the Mets will make a move to replace Porter as GM before the start of the 2021 season.