The New York Mets have come a long way since Jared Porter was hired as general manager nearly four years ago, then fired barely a month later after it was reported he had sexually harassed a female reporter in his previous job with the Chicago Cubs.
Porter has come a long way too.
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When ESPN.com reported in Jan. 2021 that Porter "sent explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016, culminating with a picture of an erect, naked penis," he was fired the next day. Porter spent 36 days on the job.
Although Porter acknowledged to reporters Jeff Passan and Mina Kimes that he sent the explicit texts, "he asked for more time before later declining further comment" after asking if ESPN planned to run the story.
In an interview published Thursday on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast, Porter told host Rob Bradford he is ready to take accountability.
"It was an inappropriate relationship for a lot of reasons, both for me personally, and also, of course, with the reporter," Porter told host Rob Bradford. "So I want to be very accountable about that as I talk through it. But yeah, when the article first came out, you know, it's crazy. Just a tremendous amount of fear, shame.
"There are some people I reached out to. Obviously I talked with my wife, my family, you know, and my coworkers at the time at the Mets about the situation. But yeah, it was obviously a really tough moment. But, you know, like I said, being accountable, like I put myself in that situation, you know, I made the decision to send the text message that I sent. And I certainly shouldn't have done it."
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Porter was suspended by Major League Baseball in June 2021, and was not eligible for reinstatement until after the 2022 season. He has kept a low profile in the meantime.
Porter said he is currently involved with launching Blend, an independent company that works with athletes to combine their mental health skills with performance. His interest in mental health stems from his own journey, including getting checked in at a Phoenix-area institute shortly after he was fired by the Mets.
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"I literally went from trading for Francisco Lindor a few weeks earlier to being at an inpatient mental health institute where I wasn't allowed to have shoelaces in my shoes until I was deemed not to be a suicide threat," Porter said. "It was hitting me hard."
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