Yesterday, Katie Strang and Brittany Ghiroli (The Athletic) published their latest report from their in-depth and on-going investigation of the toxic workplace culture of the New York Mets.
In addition to more reports of sexist and inappropriate comments and text messages by several Mets employees (both current and former), there is also detailed information about the indifference shown by the Mets' senior management, legal department, and human resources department when they learned of these incidents.
The article also featured an actual, uncanned response from Mets president Sandy Alderson. He dispensed with his usual boilerplate of "I'm shocked, shocked to find sexual harassment going on in here!" Unfortunately for him, his statement was whiny in the extreme and completely dismissive of the dozens of allegations. He mocked the female writers, "chastis[ing]" them for what he claimed was "an unfair characterization" of how the Mets handled these numerous allegations.
So how did the Mets handle things? Alderson did not offer any specific information (I guess he forgot). The article states that the Mets' HR department refused to hear complaints from the victims and some victims were punished for complaining about their abuse.
Let me try to make a point as strongly as I can, OK? Not every instance involving men, women in the workplace is a capital offense, OK? Every time something happens, it doesn't mean somebody has to be fired. There are a lot of intermediate steps that can be taken and we've done that in a variety of different cases. And have included capital punishment as a consequence in some cases, but not every case rises to the level of execution. And that's what honestly I think is happening with these articles [in The Athletic]. People are getting executed, including women, by the way, for reasons that are unjustifiable . . . Is there ever a statute of limitations on coverage of some of this stuff?
Craig Calcaterra (Cup of Coffee) writes that "Alderson's reference to a 'statute of limitations' is absolutely rich given that the clock doesn't even begin to tick on the statute of limitations if a potential defendant buries the evidence of wrongdoing like the Mets are accused of doing. Given that Alderson is himself an attorney, one presumes he knows that."
In Alderson's mind, the problem is not the various Mets' employees harassing and stalking women and engaging in abusive behaviour. No, the problem is the media publishing stories about it. (We hear this a lot. For example, the problem was not the US military torturing innocent people in Iraq; the problem was that the torturers were allowed to have cameras and they recorded their war crimes.)
Here we have a couple of outside agitators (uppity broads, at that!) sticking their noses in places where they don't belong and stirring up trouble and getting everyone upset.
* * *
Katie Strang and Brittany Ghiroli, The Athletic, April 16, 2021:
On March 8, the Mets played the Washington Nationals on a warm, windy day in West Palm Beach, Fla. . . .
On that same day, about 1,200 miles away in New York, Joe DeVito, the team's executive producer for content and marketing, told people he was leaving the team. . . .
Two days later, in an email to some Mets employees that included the subject line "roster move," DeVito wrote that "it's time for me to take a step back and assess what next steps should be in my life, and in my career, moving forward." . . .
Unmentioned in the email was that earlier in March at least two women who worked with or around DeVito had spoken to team lawyers, describing incidents they believed were sexual harassment.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior by Mets employees has been one of the dominant storylines in baseball over the last three months. In January, new GM Jared Porter was fired after ESPN reported that he had sent explicit photographs to a female reporter while he was working for the Chicago Cubs. In February, former Mets manager Mickey Callaway was accused in a report by The Athletic of sending and soliciting lewd photos and making inappropriate comments toward female media members and others who work in baseball. . . .
[DeVito] made unwanted advances toward multiple women, including sending text messages to one employee such as: "I've barely hit on you. So that counts for something." There was Ryan Ellis, a former hitting performance coordinator; three women previously complained he made aggressive sexual comments to them and sent persistent suggestive text messages. Seven employees (both male and female) told The Athletic that David Newman, the team's chief marketing, content and communications officer (and DeVito's boss), made inappropriate comments to female employees during his first stint with the team from 2005-2018. . . .
The Mets human resources department was supposed to be a firewall against such behavior and a venue for employees who wanted to raise concerns. But more than a dozen people – both male and female – said one of the department's top officials, Holly Lindvall, seemed to prioritize pleasing ownership, which made employees skeptical their complaints would be taken seriously. . . .
Newman, 59 and a native New Yorker, was hired in October 2005 . . . He ascended to the role of senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Mets . . .
Lacking a traditional baseball background, Newman often fixated on other areas – such as a kids crossword puzzle in the team magazine or particular wording in game notes . . .
Past and current employees say Newman frequently made inappropriate remarks about women's appearances, offering commentary on how they wore their hair, did their makeup and dressed and even what accessories were acceptable.
He told one woman not to wear bright lipstick so as not to bring too much attention to her mouth, going so far as to tell the woman in front of others that her lips "looked too wet." He criticized another female subordinate's hair, lamenting to her co-workers that it was too unruly for the workplace, and he asked them why she couldn't straighten it. . . .
One woman who worked for Newman said that when she was enduring a difficult pregnancy in 2013, Newman made comments about her "attitude," including once in a staff meeting. When she returned from maternity leave that fall, the woman said Newman noted in a performance review that she should be mindful of coming across to some with "an edge." . . .
DeVito, who previously worked for Vice Media, was hired in March 2016. . . . Serving directly under Newman, DeVito was a creative, field producer-type foil to Newman's more corporate, buttoned-up management style. . . .
Eventually, he began to make some women feel uncomfortable.
Among the allegations conveyed to Mets lawyers and to The Athletic by two women who worked with DeVito or were around the team: DeVito gave one of the women an unsolicited back rub in front of others in spring 2020; he invited another woman, a female employee, to a closed-door meeting during the 2019 season where he encouraged her to drink scotch with him during a workday; on multiple occasions – including as recently as December 2019 – DeVito sent that same woman suggestive text messages (which The Athletic reviewed). At least once, the recipient said that DeVito later told her to delete them.
Among the comments DeVito texted the woman: "At least I am not as creepy as Mickey. #goals" . . .
DeVito responded to interview requests with an emailed statement that read:
I've always tried to be a gentleman with everyone with whom I work and with whom I'm involved with personally. . . . I always try to grow and become a better person every day . . . I regret if that is what people are saying about me.
Newman left the Mets in October 2018 . . .
Last fall, word circulated within the Mets offices that Alderson was bringing Newman back. On the same day his return was to be officially announced, two women say they warned Alderson about him. . . .
Alderson responded that Newman's behavior was "unacceptable" . . . 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. . . .
Since 2013, Holly Lindvall, who was hired after 10 years working in the hotel business, has held a leadership position with the Mets HR department. . . .
Said one former employee, echoing the opinions of others: "It was clear that her interest was protecting ownership and executives and not the office as a whole. You could not go to HR to feel protected, comfortable, anything." . . .
Lindvall came under scrutiny in 2014 when she was named multiple times in [former VP of ticket sales Leigh] Castergine's lawsuit [alleging discrimination based on gender, pregnancy, marital status and retaliation]. Castergine said Jeff Wilpon "frequently humiliated Castergine by … pretending to see if she had an engagement ring on her finger and openly stating in a meeting of the team's all-male senior executives that he is 'morally opposed' to Castergine having this baby without being married." . . . Castergine said that her boss, Lou DePaoli, and the team's general counsel, David Cohen, heard Wilpon make sexist comments to her, and that "neither one did anything to stop it or even, at minimum, reported Wilpon's behavior as they were required to do."
According to the complaint, when Castergine complained to Lindvall about Wilpon, Lindvall urged her to quit, on multiple occasions. Castergine was later terminated after informing the team she had retained counsel to explore legal action . . . Castergine and the Mets reached a confidential settlement in 2015. . . .
In an email to The Athletic, Lindvall wrote:
We have always had a strict policy prohibiting workplace harassment and discrimination, and have thoroughly and objectively investigated any and all complaints that were brought to our attention. Where our investigation confirmed that misconduct occurred, we have always taken swift and appropriate action to remedy it. . . .
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