Mets GM Jared Porter fired after admitting to sending explicit photos to reporter
The New York Mets have dismissed recently hired general manager Jared Porter, after a report surfaced that he sent sexually explicit photos to a female reporter during his time with the Cubs in 2016. Porter worked for the Red Sox from 2004-15 and served as director of professional scouting from 2012-15, before working under Theo Epstein for two years in Chicago.
According to the report by ESPN’s Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan, the obtained text history between Porter and the reporter revealed over 60 unanswered text messages, including multiple images. ESPN also includes multiple screenshots of multiple texts and images, some of which had to be censored. Porter’s messages to the reporter culminated with “a picture of an erect, naked penis.”
The reporter, described as a “foreign correspondent” who recently moved to the U.S. to cover baseball, is maintaining anonymity due to protect herself from “backlash in her home country,” per ESPN.
“I know in the U.S., there is a women’s empowerment movement. But in [my home country], it’s still far behind,” she told ESPN. “Women get dragged through the mud if your name is associated with any type of sexual scandal. Women are the ones who get fingers pointed at them. I don’t want to go through the victimization process again. I don’t want other people to blame me.”
A grounds crew member paints the Mets logo on the field during the 84th MLB All-Star Game on July 16, 2013 at Citi Field in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ESPN also reported that Porter eventually apologized to the reporter in 2016 and described his messages as “extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line.” The reporter told ESPN that she “never really got the notion that he was truly sorry.”
Mets owner Steven Cohen addressed Porter’s dismissal on Twitter: “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.”
The Mets originally hired Porter in December. He had most recently worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks as their assistant GM.
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