The Houston Astros just made a big move right in the middle of their World Series battle against the Washington Nationals. On Thursday, the team announced they have fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for his comments on pitcher Roberto Osuna while celebrating the team’s win over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship series. The comments were brought into light when Stephanie Apstien Sports Illustrated wrote about it in a recent column.
It was reported that Taubman shouted “Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so f—ing glad we got Osuna,” in front of three female reporters. The problem with this is Osuna allegedly assaulted Alejandra Romรกn Cota, the mother of his then-three-year-old child, last year when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. And when Taubman shouted that out one of the reporters was wearing a purple domestic-violence awareness bracelet.
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The Astros released a statement announcing the news and they apologized to Apstein.
“Our initial investigation led us to believe that Brandon Taubman’s inappropriate comments were not directed toward any reporter. We were wrong. We sincerely apologize to Stephanie Apstein, Sports Illustrated and to all individuals who witnessed this incident or were offended by the inappropriate conduct. The Astros in no way intended to minimize the issues related to domestic violence,” the statement said per KHOU 11.
The Astros then went on to announce they have fired Taubman and thanked everyone who took part in the investigation.
“Accordingly, we have terminated Brandon Taubman’s employment with the Houston Astros. His conduct does not reflect the values of our organization and we believe this is the most appropriate course of action,” the Astros said.
“We are thankful to Major League Baseball and to everyone that cooperated in the investigation. As previously stated, the Astros are very committed to using our voice to create awareness and support on the issue of domestic violence. We fully support MLB and baseball’s stance and values regarding domestic violence. We will continue to make this cause a priority for our organization.”
This move is one of the big problems the Astros are dealing with. Right now, the team is down 2-0 in the World Series and the first two games were on their home field. So if Houston wants to get back in the series, they will need to find a way to take out the Nationals in Game 3 which will be played on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
