Major League Baseball has updated its code of conduct regarding harassment and discrimination and has also established an anonymous report following recent stories detailing the alleged harassment by New York Mets general manager Jared Porter and currently suspended by Los pitcher’s trainer Angeles Angels Mickey Callaway.
The code of conduct, led by the new MLB chief of culture and staff, Michele Meyer-Shipp, promises that “all MLB and Club employees will be held responsible for inappropriate conduct, regardless of seniority, position or stature,” according to with documents obtained by ESPN on Tuesday.
In a statement, MLB said it was “committed to ensuring that all individuals who work in and out of the game are welcomed and treated equally, with dignity, respect and professionalism. To fulfill this objective, MLB and its clubs will continue to strive to create environments in which people feel safe and accepted – and when they don’t, they feel comfortable speaking without fear of recrimination, retaliation or exclusion. “
The anonymous MLB hotline, called “Speak Up”, will be operated by an external third party, and its content will be investigated by the relevant team or the commissioner’s office, depending on the nature of the allegation. A pamphlet that will be posted on the walls of all major league clubs this season describes three steps for those with information about sexual misconduct and states that “if an offense is found, corrective action will be taken. Depending on the severity of the situation , corrective action may take the form of a warning, suspension, termination of employment, or any other measures available to a Club or Commissioner. “
The league also sent a memo to teams demanding anti-harassment and discrimination training, which must be completed before the end of March by the five most experienced baseball operations officials and the five oldest business officials, a source confirmed to ESPN. It also encouraged teams to adopt annual training in a similar format for all non-player personnel; teams are already holding seminars on sexual harassment and domestic violence for major league players every spring training. The league previously required teams to undergo anti-harassment and discrimination training at least every three years from 2018 to 2020, but did not specify senior leadership and did not establish a comprehensive approach to education.
On January 18, ESPN reported a series of explicit and unsolicited text messages that Porter sent to a reporter in 2016 while working for the Chicago Cubs, one of which included the image of an erect penis. Porter received the text messages and was fired the next day by Mets.
Two weeks later, The Athletic published a report in which five women in the sports media accused Callaway of inappropriate behavior that included sending shirtless photos, a request for nude photos and other advances, prompting the Angels to suspend him amid an ongoing investigation. Callaway, a source said, initially denied any wrongdoing.
Several teams – mainly the Mets, Cleveland Indians and Cubs, who previously employed Porter or Callaway or both – have been working on ways to update their verification process and install new protocols after these reports.
Meyer-Shipp, who was hired in August after serving as director of diversity and inclusion at the accounting firm KPMG, is also reviewing the “Selig’s Rule” that urged teams to consider minorities for top positions.
The new code of conduct talks about inclusion, acceptance and equality, defines harassment and discrimination and encourages league employees to report obscene behavior. The pamphlet states that reports of misconduct “will be kept confidential to the extent possible to conduct a full and lawful investigation” and calls for retaliation against those complaints “a serious violation”.
“Harassment and discrimination have no place in the Major League Baseball,” the league said in its statement. “We appreciate the courage of the women who shared their stories and we believe that open dialogue is an important part of progress. We must work to build an equal playing field for everyone involved in our game.”
Atlético first reported the new league policies.