Jared Porter: Mets GM Sent Unsolicited Explicit Photo to Reporter After She Repeatedly Ignored Him

The New York Mets have fired general manager Jared Porter after ESPN reported he sent an [...]

By Brian Jones

The New York Mets have fired general manager Jared Porter after ESPN reported he sent an unsolicited explicit photo to a female reporter after she ignored multiple text messages from him in 2016. At that time, Porter was working for the Chicago Cubs as he was the director of professional scouting. The female reporter was a foreign correspondent who had moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball.

"We have terminated Jared Porter this morning," Mets owner Steve Cohen wrote on Twitter. "In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it. There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior." The reporter said at one point she ignored more than 60 text messages from Porter before he sent her a picture of a naked penis, according to the text history from ESPN. The text relationship started casually before Porter started complimenting the reporter's appearance, invited her to meet him in different cities and asking why she was ignoring him.

The reporter stopped responding to Porter when he sent her a photo of pants featuring a bulge in the groin area. However, the former Mets GM continued to text her, sending dozens of messages. On Aug. 11, 2016, Porter sent the woman 17 pictures, 15 of which were of a hotel and restaurants in Los Angeles as Porter asked her to meet in him in L.A. The 16th was the pants photo and the 17th was of a bare penis.

Porter spoke to ESPN Monday evening and said he did send text messages to the reporter. When asked about the photos, Porter, 41, said, "the more explicit ones are not of me. Those are like, kinda like joke-stock images." Porter asked if ESPN was planning to run a story and then asked for more time before declining further comment.

ESPN obtained the messages in December 2017 after being alerted by a baseball source. The reporter was interviewed by ESPN but was not reported at the time as the woman said her career would be harmed if the story was published. The woman, who no longer works in journalism, decided to come forward now but only on the condition of anonymity.

"I know in the U.S., there is a women's empowerment movement. But in [my home country], it's still far behind," the woman said through an interpreter. "Women get dragged through the mud if your name is associated with any type of sexual scandal. Women are the ones who get fingers pointed at them. I don't want to go through the victimization process again. I don't want other people to blame me."

Porter was hired by the Mets in December after spending time with the Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. He apologized to the woman in 2016 by text after she told him the messages were "extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line."

Trending Now: