The New York Mets are in need of a general manager after disturbing news of Jared Porter sexually harassing a female journalist. The texting history between the reporter and Porter were brought to light by ESPN’s Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan. Their reporting details the constant sexual harassment inflicted by Jared Porter on a female reporter in 2016. Porter was a member of the Chicago Cubs organization at the time.
The first time the journalist and Porter met, the pair exchanged business cards. That afternoon is when the texts started. The reporter moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball and initially thought Porter was being friendly as a business contact. When Porter’s messages became increasingly more sexual, including unwanted photos of a bulge in a man’s pants, the journalist stopped replying. Porter, however, did not stop for weeks.
He sent her sixty unanswered messages from July 19 through August 10. When they were both at Wrigley Field she said she hid from him. On August 11, Porter took things further and sent a naked photo of himself. The journalist showed the vile photo to an interpreter who helped her pen her final message to Porter. She told him how offensive and inappropriate his messages and photos were. He apologized and asked her if she needed anything work-related. The next day he apologized again and she never heard from him again.
Porter went on to work with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The journalist stayed with the Cubs’ the following season but avoided traveling to Diamondbacks’ games. She would hide when she had to go to the stadium, while at the same time Porter was being mentioned as a top GM choice.
Mets’ Response
Mets’ new owner Steve Cohen fired Porter the morning after the report came out. Cohen pledged there would be a zero-tolerance policy in the workplace and it is refreshing to see him sticking to that. While this swift and decisive action is the correct step, it is still the bare minimum.
This was an open and shut situation. The woman never expressed any interest in Porter and yet he persisted including sending a disgusting photo of himself. Porter admitted to sending the over sixty messages so there was nothing else to do but terminate him. It’s just hard to believe the Mets didn’t do their homework on their hirings. New York Mets’ president Sandy Alderson told reporters that there were no women in the vetting process of Porter. Again, the importance of representation cannot be overstated in a moment like this.
When Cohen purchased the team, he preached integrity. You would assume that would mean they would vet their candidates further before hiring those who will represent the team. ESPN was able to get the details of the story, I’m sure the New York Mets could have too.
The Bigger Picture
You don’t have to be a woman in sports to relate to the woman in this story. So many of us personally know the struggle of being harassed by a person in power at work. The feeling of being trapped at your own job. The woman has decided to no longer work in journalism after asking herself if the anxiety of going to work was worth it.
It was just months ago the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as the first female general manager in Major League Baseball history. Every team was more than happy to celebrate such an amazing milestone, finally. That same energy needs to be used to reject Porter and those that engage and/or excuse sexual harassment.
It’s sad that in 2021 we still need to discuss the concept of consent. The above tweet spells it out pretty simply. Women should never be fearful of going to their workplace. This woman was in a new country by herself and Porter took advantage of a person in a vulnerable position.
Sadly, there are accounts of men in powerful positions in almost every sector using it to harass female employees. Do you think Porter would send that many text messages to a male reporter (I’m not even going to mention the photo) without receiving a reply? Men will be quick to downplay incidents like this. It’s always what was she wearing or she probably liked the attention. Society is quick to deflect men in power’s responsibility of treating women with respect.
It is time to listen and believe women. We are so conditioned to automatically blame a woman and say she is just looking for a financial come up. We are ready to victimize a woman all over again.
