Mets GM Fired, Sent Naked Picture After 62 Unanswered Text Messages

The New York Mets fired general manager Jared Porter Tuesday morning for harassing a female reporter and sending her unsolicited sexually explicit text messages when he was the Chicago Cubs director of professional scouting in 2016.

Mets owner Steve Cohen made the announcement on Twitter less than 10 hours after ESPN reported Porer’s behavior.

“We have terminated Jared Porter this morning,” Cohen tweeted. “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.”

Porter began texting the woman in June 2016 after they met in a Yankee Stadium elevator, ESPN reports. Following unsuccessful attempts to meet the reporter for a drink, Porter sent her a selfie and asked if she wanted more photos. The woman said yes, not completely understanding Porter’s intentions since she is from another country and only had a limited grasp of the English language.

Porter sent the woman a picture of a man with a bulge in his pants, among other photos. She was initially cordial but eventually stopped responding when she realized Porter’s intentions, the reporter told ESPN.

That didn’t stop Porter, who would go on to send the reporter 62 unanswered text messages from July 19 to Aug. 10, 2016, ESPN reports. On Aug. 11, 2016, Porter sent her a picture of an erect penis, followed by more unanswered texts.

Porter acknowledged to ESPN that he texted the woman and sent her explicit photos. He claimed the lewd pictures were not of him.

“Those are like, kinda like joke-stock images.” Porter told ESPN.

The Mets fired Porter just five weeks after hiring him. New York did make a blockbuster trade during Porter’s brief stint with the club, but his tenure ends months before the start of the MLB regular season.

“My number one motivation is I want to prevent this from happening to someone else,” the reporter, who has since left journalism, told ESPN through an interpreter. “Obviously, he's in a much greater position of power. I want to prevent that from happening again. The other thing is, I never really got the notion that he was truly sorry.”

“I know in the U.S., there is a women’s empowerment movement. But in [my home country], it’s still far behind. 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.”