New York Mets general manager Jared Porter was fired on Tuesday morning after reports surfaced that he had sent unsolicited and explicit photos to a reporter in 2016, said team owner Steve Cohen.
Cohen made the announcement on Twitter the day after reports revealed that Porter started sending inappropriate text messages to a journalist over the course of several weeks when he worked as a professional scouting director for the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
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“We fired Jared Porter this morning,” said Cohen in his statement. “In my initial press conference, I spoke about the importance of integrity and was sincere. There must be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
The victim, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation in his home country, told ESPN that he met Porter in an elevator at Yankee Stadium on June 26, 2016, after moving to the U.S. to cover Major League Baseball.
She said the two exchanged contact information for what she believed to be business purposes, but Porter immediately started texting her the same day, asking her to meet several times to drink, according to the report. He started sending her a selfie and asked if she was in a relationship. The woman said she had not realized the nature of the conversation, probably because of the language barrier.
Porter reportedly sent a text message to the woman the next day, again asking to meet and commenting on her physical appearance. They planned a date, but they never did, she said.
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She said that Porter contacted him again on July 19 and sent him a series of photos, one showing a man lying in bed with a bulge in his pants. She realized the sexual nature behind her texts and cut off all communication, says the report.
According to ESPN, Porter would send 62 unanswered text messages between July 19 and August 10 – including a photo of his penis.
The woman said she ended up showing the messages to a player and interpreter from her home country who helped her create a message that said, “This is extremely inappropriate, very offensive and is going out of line. You could stop sending offensive photos or messages. . ”
Porter sent several apologetic messages, including one that supposedly said, “Please let me know if you need anything to work with.” He sent an apology message the next day. The next day, he sent her a photo of the Dodger stadium – his last attempt at contact, according to ESPN.
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The Cubs told ESPN in a statement late on Monday that they will be investigating the incident, but did not know it until today, despite the woman saying she spoke about it with a Cubs official in 2016 and again in 2017.
“This story caught our eye tonight and we are not aware that this incident has been reported to the organization,” says the statement. “If we had been notified, we would have acted quickly, as the alleged behavior violates our code of conduct.”
Porter was hired by Mets in December. He has worked for the Boston Red Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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When contacted by ESPN, Porter acknowledged having sent a text message to the woman, adding that the explicit photos were “like pictures of jokes”.
He later declined to comment after learning about ESPN’s plans to write a report.