Ex-Mets GM Jared Porter speaks out for the first time about ‘inappropriate relationship’
In Jared Porter’s first public comments since being fired as New York Mets general manager nearly four years ago, he called his actions inappropriate and said the organization made the best decision.
In January 2021, the Mets fired Porter within nine hours of an ESPN report which revealed that he had sent dozens of inappropriate text messages to a female journalist.
“It was an inappropriate relationship for a lot of reasons,” Porter said while appearing on the podcast.Baseball isn’t boring.”
“I put myself in that situation,” he continued. “I decided to send the text message I sent. And I certainly shouldn’t have done it.”
Porter sent the texts to a journalist in 2016 while working for the Chicago Cubs. According to ESPN’s initial report, after a brief exchange, Porter’s texts included lewd and explicit photos, even though they went unanswered for weeks. In total, Porter sent 62 messages over three weeks between replies before the journalist asked him to stop. She eventually left journalism, partly because of the harassment.
After he was discharged, Porter said he went to an inpatient center at a behavioral health facility in Arizona called The Meadows for a week. He then transferred to an outpatient clinic and went there five days a week for eight weeks. He said he had no consciousness and knew no boundaries. Porter said, “It took a major incident like this to wake me up.” Porter said he still sees a therapist and has visited mental health retreat centers with his wife.
Porter’s tenure with the Mets lasted just 37 days. With so much business being conducted via video calls at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter said he never saw his office at Citi Field or even met Mets owner Steve Cohen in person.
“They had to make the best decision for the New York Mets when the article came out, and I knew they would do that,” Porter said. “I don’t have any ill will towards them. I think they made the best decision for the Mets. It’s a shame that I put myself and them in this situation.”
(Photo: Rob Schumacher / USA Today)
