The owner of the New York Mets says he abandoned Twitter because his family received threats that he attributed to “misinformation” that was not linked to the baseball team.
Steve Cohen’s hedge fund, Point72, became entangled in the market turmoil which pitted a bunch of small investors against traders who bet against – or “shorted” – shares in companies, including GameStop.
The hedge funds that sold GameStop lost billions when small investors bid on the company’s shares. One of the short sellers, Melvin Capital, announced this week that he had received a $ 750 million infusion from Point72.
“I really enjoyed the comings and goings of Mets fans on Twitter, which unfortunately was overcome this week by incorrect information unrelated to Mets that led our family to receive personal threats,” Cohen said on Saturday in a statement released by Mets. “So, I’m going to take a break now.”
The hedge fund billionaire told Mets fans, “We have other ways to listen to your suggestions and remain committed to doing so.” He added that this week’s events will not affect the team’s resources.
Cohen acquired a stake in Mets for the first time in 2012. Last year, he won a 95% stake in a deal that valued the club at $ 2.4 billion, a record selling price for a Major League Baseball team .
The Mets drew last in the Eastern division of the National League last season. This month, the team fired its newly hired general manager after reports that he had sent explicit and unsolicited messages to a reporter several years ago.