Jared Porter, the disgraced former Mets general manager who was fired after only 38 days on the job, is finding peace again after going through therapy and getting help after his sexual harassment scandal came to light in 2021.
Hopefully, the woman he harassed is finding peace as well.
Porter broke his nearly four-year silence this weekend, speaking with Rob Bradford on the “Baseball isn’t Boring” podcast. Now 45, the former executive owned up to his unethical behavior in 2016 when he pursued a foreign correspondent while working for the Chicago Cubs.
“It was an inappropriate relationship for a lot of reasons,” Porter said. “You know, both for me personally and also, of course, with the reporter. So I want to be very accountable about that as I talk through it.”
Porter sent several text messages to a reporter, many of which included sexual advances and lewd photographs. She initially engaged because the language barrier and cultural differences left her confused, but the messages soon made her uncomfortable and she started ignoring them.
Eventually, a player and an interpreter from her home country helped her with a message asking Porter to stop. Porter responded with a quid pro quo of sorts, apologizing and telling her to reach out if she needed anything from him as a source.
She has since left the industry and returned to her home country. She went public with the messages after Porter was hired by the Mets in December 2020, shortly after Steve Cohen purchased a controlling interest in the team.
Cohen fired Porter just hours after the report was published.
“Look, I was really enjoying my time at the Mets, working with Sandy [Alderson] and Steve and the group they’d put together,” Porter said. “They gave me the opportunity to be a general manager, which was an incredible opportunity. And look, they had to make the best decision for the New York Mets when the article came out, and I knew they would. You know, I hold zero ill will toward them whatsoever…
“I do think they made the best decision for the Mets. It’s unfortunate that I put myself and put them in that situation.”
The fallout continued for months with multiple women soon coming forward to accuse former Mets manager Mickey Callaway of sexual harassment during his time in Cleveland and Queens. The league launched an investigation and the Mets did two themselves. Cohen hired an outside law firm to conduct a cultural assessment of the organization and the team did an internal review as well that resulted in the dismissal of a handful of employees.
Porter sought mental help at The Meadows, a facility in Arizona for the treatment of addiction and emotional trauma, where he was able to benefit from small group settings. He’s now working with a mental health company called Blend which works with athletes in various sports at various levels.
MLB suspended both Porter and Callaway after separate investigations. They are both eligible for reinstatement.
“When the article first came out, you know, it’s crazy, just a tremendous amount of fear, you know, shame,” Porter said.
It’s tough to remember he was the executive that brought Francisco Lindor to the Mets, but it’s a legacy he left behind during his short tenure in New York. Porter said he was rooting for the Mets and the star shortstop he acquired during the postseason this year. Also of note in the interview, Porter said he never met Cohen in person and never saw his office at Citi Field due to the COVID-19 restrictions at the time.
Porter acknowledged that his behavior was wrong, while also saying he has since forgiven himself. However, in a situation like this, forgiveness isn’t up to him, but up to the woman on the receiving end of the messages.
