Steve Cohen Swiftly Fires GM Jared Porter For Harassing Reporter

by Tim Reilly January 19, 2021 0 Comments

While most people were sleeping, the Mets once again became the talk of baseball – maybe even sports. And just like the old days, it was for all the wrong reasons. A report came out that GM Jared Porter had harassed a female reporter via 62 unanswered text messages while working in the Cubs front office five years ago.

Jared Porter is THE DEFINITION of down bad. pic.twitter.com/iCYdcP4gNN
— Adam 🐼 (@AdamBayBoyy) January 19, 2021

New York Mets general manager Jared Porter sent explicit photos, including a naked picture of a penis, to a foreign female reporter in 2016 after she had ignored dozens of other messages from him for weeks.

Details in news story with @minakimes at ESPN: https://t.co/gAOzQlTeAf
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 19, 2021

From ESPN:

"New York Mets general manager Jared Porter sent explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016, culminating with a picture of an erect, naked penis, according to a copy of the text history obtained by ESPN.

The woman, a foreign correspondent who had moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball, said at one point she ignored more than 60 messages from Porter before he sent the final lewd photo. The text relationship started casually before Porter, then the Chicago Cubs director of professional scouting, began complimenting her appearance, inviting her to meet him in various cities and asking why she was ignoring him. And the texts show she had stopped responding to Porter after he sent a photo of pants featuring a bulge in the groin area."

I encourage you to read the full story. Unfortunately, this is common for women in the workforce. It is completely inappropriate and it's saddening to think this happens on such a frequent basis. It's important to read the details and understand why so many of these stories never see the light of day due to career path concerns.

Back to Porter for a moment. 62 unanswered text messages?! My god, dude. Get a grip on yourself. I can't even begin to comprehend reaching out to someone like that.

There is simply no excuse. Porter admitted to his actions late last night, and Steve Cohen wasted no time taking action first thing in the morning.

We have terminated Jared Porter this morning . 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.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 19, 2021

It's no secret that the Mets have long been a laughing stock with personnel mishaps on and off the field. It's easy to come across this story and think to yourself "same old Mets." I have to disagree with that notion. Cohen swiftly took action to make it clear this culture change is real.

The importance of integrity has been set and enforced. That goes for every single employee.

Porter was here for a cup of coffee. Although the incident happened with the Cubs, it will not be tied with the Mets forever. That's how it goes. What should also be tied with the Mets forever was how they wasted no time standing up for what was right. That's important, too.

Don't stress about who's going to make the Mets roster moves now. That will take care of itself.

I'm sorry for anyone that has gone through this type of harassment at their job. Hopefully, under Steve Cohen's leadership, the Mets can lead the charge in change.