More than five months after he was fired by the New York Mets after alleged sexual harassment and misconduct, former general manager Jared Porter was placed in Major League Baseball’s ineligible list on Wednesday.
Porter, the league announced, will be on the list at least through the 2022 season.
“My office has completed its investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct by Jared Porter,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Porter violated MLB’s policies and that placement on the ineligible list is warranted. We are committed to providing an appropriate work environment consistent with our values for all those involved in our game.”
Jared Porter fired after allegedly harassing female reporter
The Mets fired Porter in January after he admitted to sending harassing and explicit texts to a female reporter in 2016, when he was working as the director of professional scouting with the Chicago Cubs.
The woman spoke to ESPN on the condition of anonymity, and said that Porter sent her more than 60 unanswered texts at one point before he allegedly sent a lewd photo of an erect penis. Porter later claimed that the graphic photos aren’t actually of him, but are “kinda like joke-stock images.”
The two met in 2016 while the reporter, who had moved to the United States as a foreign correspondent, was covering the Cubs. Porter started texting her the night they met, and asked her to get a drink multiple times. The woman initially agreed, thinking that she was meeting a potential source, but later declined.
The messages eventually turned sexual, and once the woman realized that she cut off communication.
“If I had a better understanding — not just of the language, but the culture — I definitely would have realized sooner what was going on,” she said.
After she showed the texts to a player from her home country and an interpreter, they urged her to confront Porter and tell him to stop. Before she did so, Porter reportedly texted her 62 times without a response.
The Mets, Cubs and Diamondbacks, who Porter also worked for, all denied knowing of the incident. Porter was hired by the Mets on Dec. 13, shortly after Steve Cohen purchased the team. He was fired just more than a month later.
“Jared has acknowledged to me his serious error in judgment, has taken responsibility for his conduct, has expressed remorse and has previously apologized for his actions,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement to ESPN after their story breaking the news went live. “The Mets take these matters seriously, expect professional and ethical behavior from all of our employees, and certainly do not condone the conduct described in your story.”
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