Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
A short period after the Mets hired Jared Porter to become their new general manager, The Athletic story came out detailing his inappropriate behavior and lewd photos that were sent to women in baseball.
Owner Steve Cohen acted swiftly by terminating Porter.
Then came the report by The Athletic on former Mets manager Mickey Callaway‘s lewd behavior, from his time with the Indians and when he was with the Mets, as well.
The Angels suspended Callaway in February and they’ve given no update on their investigation or his status since.
In February, again The Athletic, reported that the Mets had recently dismissed hitting coordinator Ryan Ellis. Three women reported to the Mets that Ellis had exhibited such behavior back in 2018.
Friday morning’s piece in The Athletic focuses on two people in particular – Joe DeVito (executive producer of entertainment from 2016 until March of 2021) and the Mets current executive VP of content and communications, David Newman.
The following are among messages sent by DeVito to a co-worker with the Mets:
“At least I am not as creepy as Mickey. #goals”
“I’ve barely hit on you. So that counts for something.”
“I want to let you know something…..I don’t want to be ‘that’ guy.”
“I respect the f—k out of you. And I’m not being Mickey right?” (followed by a crying laughing emoji).”
Newman – who left the Mets in October of 2018 – was rehired by Sandy Alderson during the offseason. The word of his potential hiring was seen with ire from female Mets employees that decided to reach out to Alderson:
“I said, ‘How can you take David Newman back? He’s a creep,’” said one of the women, who told Alderson that Newman mistreated one of her colleagues.
Alderson reached out to those women – including one that believed she was mistreated because of her being pregnant, but decided to keep Newman in the Mets organization.
Alderson responded that Newman’s behavior was “unacceptable,” she said, but then remarked that he believed in second chances and vowed to tell Newman to “knock it off.” Newman’s hiring was announced later that day.
The story then focuses on the Mets’ senior VP of human resources and diversity, Holly Lindvall, a position she’s held with the Mets since 2018. She’s been in the Mets HR department since 2013.
Lindvall was named in the lawsuit that Leigh Castergine brought against Jeff Wilpon back in 2014. Castergine said she was fired by Jeff because she had a child without being married. The case was settled by the Mets and Jeff Wilpon in 2015 and they released a statement saying this “will result in the organization being more attentive to the important issues raised by women in sports.”
Many in the Mets organization believed Lindvall would do what she needed to in order to protect ownership.
“There was the fear that she could do that to you, get in the way,” said one former employee. “Even if she didn’t like you, she was HR, she was supposed to be a good person to go to. She was not liked, she was feared.”
On March 19 of this year, Cohen announced in a company-wide email he was hiring the law firm WilmerHale to “focus on sexual harassment, misconduct and discrimination issues.”
When Cohen was asked to comment on the most recent article from The Athletic, he said, “Several weeks ago, I retained WilmerHale to conduct a review of the organization’s culture. They will provide me with a report of what they find. I will listen carefully and then take any steps I believe are appropriate based on the findings.”
For more details, read full article by The Athletic
