“At least I am not as creepy as Mickey. #goals”

[G-Fafif]

The Athletic finds more Wilpon-era organizational dirt.

Allegations of inappropriate behavior by Mets employees has been one of the dominant storylines in baseball over the last three months. In January, new GM Jared Porter was fired after ESPN reported that he had sent explicit photographs to a female reporter while he was working for the Chicago Cubs. In February, former Mets manager Mickey Callaway was accused in a report by The Athletic of sending and soliciting lewd photos and making inappropriate comments toward female media members and others who work in baseball. Porter and Callaway were well-known, front-facing members of the organization. Besides those two men were figures whose behavior troubled some Mets employees and contributed to a workplace culture that is now being investigated by a law firm hired by Cohen. There was DeVito, who made unwanted advances toward multiple women, including sending text messages to one employee such as: “I've barely hit on you. So that counts for something.” There was Ryan Ellis, a former hitting performance coordinator; three women previously complained he made aggressive sexual comments to them and sent persistent suggestive text messages. Seven employees (both male and female) told The Athletic that David Newman, the team's chief marketing, content and communications officer (and DeVito's boss), made inappropriate comments to female employees during his first stint with the team from 2005-2018. Upon learning that Newman was slated to rejoin the team in November 2020, two female employees warned Mets president Sandy Alderson about Newman and suggested Alderson examine Newman's previous behavior. The Mets human resources department was supposed to be a firewall against such behavior and a venue for employees who wanted to raise concerns. But more than a dozen people – both male and female – said one of the department's top officials, Holly Lindvall, seemed to prioritize pleasing ownership, which made employees skeptical their complaints would be taken seriously. Allegations against Callaway, Ellis, Newman and others reached HR and/or the Mets' legal department. Yet those three men and others remained in their posts. In an email to employees sent March 19, Cohen announced that the law firm's external review would focus on “sexual harassment, misconduct, and discrimination issues.” That examination, current and former employees say, is long overdue. During the time father and son Fred and Jeff Wilpon owned the team from 2002-2020, prominent figures in the organization created an environment that made employees feel powerless, uncared for and unheard. Their actions felt constant, steady, like a stream of water dripping on bare wood. And eventually the rot set in.

https://theathletic.com/2519652/2021/04/16/ive-barely-hit-on-you-inside-a-mets-culture-rotten-beyond-mickey-callaway-and-jared-porter/https://theathletic.com/2519652/2021/04/16/ive-barely-hit-on-you-inside-a-mets-culture-rotten-beyond-mickey-callaway-and-jared-porter/

[G-Fafif]

Lacking a traditional baseball background, Newman often fixated on other areas – such as a kids crossword puzzle in the team magazine or particular wording in game notes – and subordinates feared “even the tiniest thing would be wrong,” said one former employee. He had a rule prohibiting employees from chewing gum; one former employee said she'd swallow hers if she heard him approaching to avoid his ire. Newman could be an effective advocate. He would push employees to seek a new job every two years, even if that meant leaving the organization, and would champion employees in their future endeavors, leveraging his connections for those he liked. One woman said she was told during the interview process: “He's an asshole who is terrible to work for, but he can get you where you need to go.” “You come in kind of knowing (that's the deal),” said the woman, who no longer works in baseball. “It's just hard to understand the nuances until you're really in it.” Past and current employees say Newman frequently made inappropriate remarks about women's appearances, offering commentary on how they wore their hair, did their makeup and dressed and even what accessories were acceptable. He told one woman not to wear bright lipstick so as not to bring too much attention to her mouth, going so far as to tell the woman in front of others that her lips “looked too wet.” He criticized another female subordinate's hair, lamenting to her co-workers that it was too unruly for the workplace, and he asked them why she couldn't straighten it. That woman was “smart, very capable, maybe the smartest person on the team, but … he could not get beyond the fact she would not do her hair and it stopped him from thinking that she could move forward,” said one of her co-workers.

[G-Fafif]

DeVito quickly gained responsibilities and power within the organization. Eventually, he began to make some women feel uncomfortable. Among the allegations conveyed to Mets lawyers and to The Athletic by two women who worked with DeVito or were around the team: DeVito gave one of the women an unsolicited back rub in front of others in spring 2020; he invited another woman, a female employee, to a closed-door meeting during the 2019 season where he encouraged her to drink scotch with him during a workday; on multiple occasions – including as recently as December 2019 – DeVito sent that same woman suggestive text messages (which The Athletic reviewed). At least once, the recipient said that DeVito later told her to delete them. Among the comments DeVito texted the women: “At least I am not as creepy as Mickey. #goals” “I've barely hit on you. So that counts for something.” “I want to let you know something…..I don't want to be ‘that' guy.” “I respect the fuck out of you. And I'm not being Mickey right?” (followed by a crying laughing emoji). He also responded “#ThatsWhatSheSaid” to one of the women's comments, potentially a reference to a sexualized running joke from “The Office.” He once messaged her, “I'm not flirting right?” but then later in the text string wrote: “By the way….totally flirting” (followed by the crying laughing emoji). He then wrote that he mistyped and meant to insert a “not” in that sentence.

[duan]

Yeah it's pretty grim. Sandy definitely still has things to answer about with the David Newman thing - especially as he was plenty involved in the earlier period.

[G-Fafif]

Since 2013, Holly Lindvall, who was hired after 10 years working in the hotel business, has held a leadership position with the Mets HR department. Hired as an executive director, Lindvall has risen to senior vice president, human resources and diversity. She was described by multiple sources as a deft politician — adept at cultivating connections with those above her, including Jeff Wilpon, with whom she was close. Said one former employee, echoing the opinions of others: “It was clear that her interest was protecting ownership and executives and not the office as a whole. You could not go to HR to feel protected, comfortable, anything.” Lindvall, 45, wields considerable power. She has input on both promotions and raises, and employees feared she could imperil their position with the club or stymie their ability to ascend. It was widely understood within the organization that if you had a problem, it was best to try to fix it rather than risk going to Lindvall. “There was the fear that she could do that to you, get in the way,” said one former employee. “Even if she didn't like you, she was HR, she was supposed to be a good person to go to. She was not liked, she was feared.” Some employees surreptitiously referred to Lindvall as Regina, a reference to the antagonist in the 2004 film “Mean Girls.” Lindvall came under scrutiny in 2014 when she was named multiple times in Castergine's lawsuit. Castergine said Jeff Wilpon “frequently humiliated Castergine by … pretending to see if she had an engagement ring on her finger and openly stating in a meeting of the team's all-male senior executives that he is ‘morally opposed' to Castergine having this baby without being married.” In the complaint from that lawsuit, Castergine also said that Jeff Wilpon told her “when she gets a ring, she will make more money and get a bigger bonus.” Castergine said that her boss, Lou DePaoli, and the team's general counsel, David Cohen, heard Wilpon make sexist comments to her, and that “neither one did anything to stop it or even, at minimum, reported Wilpon's behavior as they were required to do.”

[Fman99]

Cavemen, all of them. Perpetually embarrassing. Show them all the door, Unkie Steve.

[G-Fafif]

In an interview, Alderson chastised The Athletic for what he felt was an unfair characterization of how the organization handled allegations of wrongdoing. He also felt some stories spotlighted employees who were tasked with gathering information but were not decision-makers. “Let me try to make a point as strongly as I can, OK? Not every instance involving men, women in the workplace is a capital offense, OK? Every time something happens, it doesn't mean somebody has to be fired,” Alderson said. “There are a lot of intermediate steps that can be taken and we've done that in a variety of different cases. And have included capital punishment as a consequence in some cases, but not every case rises to the level of execution. And that's what honestly I think is happening with these articles (in The Athletic). People are getting executed, including women, by the way, for reasons that are unjustifiable.”

[Edgy MD]

David sounds like he's got some things to sort out there.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Two things I'm not clear on:



1. Who is "DeVito"?



2. Did the Mets go ahead and rehire Newman in November 2020 after Sandy received the warning?

[duan]

1. A guy they brought in from Vice Media to work in "content & marketing"

2. Yes.

[Edgy MD]

I'm guessing that's Joe DeVito, executive producer, content and marketing. He left the organization in March, and I'm supposing it wasn't voluntary.

[G-Fafif]

The lede (I was just sharing the more salacious excerpts):

On March 8, the Mets played the Washington Nationals on a warm, windy day in West Palm Beach, Fla., an early spring training test before a season holding great promise for an organization with a new majority owner, hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, and a new star, shortstop Francisco Lindor. On that same day, about 1,200 miles away in New York, Joe DeVito, the team's executive producer for content and marketing, told people he was leaving the team. Two days later, in an email to some Mets employees that included the subject line “roster move,” DeVito wrote that “it's time for me to take a step back and assess what next steps should be in my life, and in my career, moving forward.” DeVito, 46, had been with the Mets for five years, during which time he steadily accrued more clout and responsibility within the organization, adding social media and marketing to his portfolio. Given his stature, and the timing (less than one month before Opening Day), his departure was a surprise to many. Unmentioned in the email was that earlier in March at least two women who worked with or around DeVito had spoken to team lawyers, describing incidents they believed were sexual harassment.

[bmfc1]

Sandy had an "out" before as he wasn't with the team when some/all of Mickey's garbage came to light but he's all the way in now. He has retained Lindvall, the HR Attorney who is accused of being a stooge for ownership, he re-hired Newman despite fair warnings, and then he said (in addition to the quotes above):

[bLOCKQUOTE]“Is there ever a statute of limitations on coverage of some of this stuff?”[/bLOCKQUOTE]

These are recent events and if he isn't smart enough and/or aware enough not to say this then he should know that there isn't a time limit on allegations of this kind.



He's gone and the guy that wasn't hired as the GM b/c they liked Porter more who then became the GM b/c of what Porter did will now have even more of a role.

[Ceetar]

Last time Cohen called WilmerHale, and hired Jeanne Melino, chief inclusion and engagement officer. Two people 'retired'.



So far, Cohen has called WilmerHale, and hired Jeanne Melino (and Chris Christie...).



Maybe Sandy steps down and the HR lady retires.



That's not enough. But It'd probably put money on that being it.





NONE of these people are smart enough, or bring enough to the table to even have hesitated in axing them, never mind promoting and re-hiring them.

[LWFS]

In an interview, Alderson chastised The Athletic for what he felt was an unfair characterization of how the organization handled allegations of wrongdoing. He also felt some stories spotlighted employees who were tasked with gathering information but were not decision-makers. “Let me try to make a point as strongly as I can, OK? Not every instance involving men, women in the workplace is a capital offense, OK? Every time something happens, it doesn't mean somebody has to be fired,” Alderson said. “There are a lot of intermediate steps that can be taken and we've done that in a variety of different cases. And have included capital punishment as a consequence in some cases, but not every case rises to the level of execution. And that's what honestly I think is happening with these articles (in The Athletic). People are getting executed, including women, by the way, for reasons that are unjustifiable.”

Absent any other context, and if you squint REALLY hard, you could see that maybe Sandy is doing that thing here where he's passionately protecting the organizaton against outsiders who would harm it, and that maybe he doesn't feel this way. Maybe he's just saying these things, and internally, he's doing the right ones. Maybe.



His actions re: hiring/discipline since rejoining the team make it almost impossible to hold that position. "Capital offense." "People getting executed." The more you read, the more it begins to feel like he was a minute/a Scotch away from yelping "facts over feelings" and "CRY MORE" into the phone. Sandy doesn't really seem to get it.

[Gwreck]

Sandy does not come across well in this story.



A statement along the lines of “We are conducting a full review led by outside counsel and are committed to addressing issues” statement would have done fine here. The comments about “execution” (not the right metaphor to use) and “statute of limitations” are not the right choices.

[LWFS]

It reminds me of a lot of the defenses of MeTooers like Louis CK, whose offenses weren't straight-outta-HR-training-videos quidproquo-age. "He shouldn't lose his CAREER over this," and disbelieving/aggrieved "You're going to take away EVERYTHING for this," and other such.



Not a one of these loyal friends/defenders-of-the-faith seemed to ever spare a thought-- not an out-loud one, anyway-- for the many, many women and vulnerable others who never got to BEGIN their careers because of creeps like this. THOSE lost careers don't keep the Sandys of the world up at night, apparently. A little too abstract, maybe.

[A Boy Named Seo]

In an interview, Alderson chastised The Athletic for what he felt was an unfair characterization of how the organization handled allegations of wrongdoing. He also felt some stories spotlighted employees who were tasked with gathering information but were not decision-makers. “Let me try to make a point as strongly as I can, OK? Not every instance involving men, women in the workplace is a capital offense, OK? Every time something happens, it doesn't mean somebody has to be fired,” Alderson said. “There are a lot of intermediate steps that can be taken and we've done that in a variety of different cases. And have included capital punishment as a consequence in some cases, but not every case rises to the level of execution. And that's what honestly I think is happening with these articles (in The Athletic). People are getting executed, including women, by the way, for reasons that are unjustifiable.”

Yeah this quote got me, too. If the culture is such that things happen enough to where there are a "variety of different cases", then maybe the culture is shit.

[Bunt the First Two]

　　I'm not as creepy as Mickey

　　I'm not a pyro like Vince

　　I don't chase teenagers like Paulie

　　('Cept in high school, but I swear I ain't since)



　　I'm not prone to bar fights like Darling

　　I don't terrorize partners like Straw

　　My fingers ain't sticky like Charlie's

　　I haven't Burgos' hist'ry with the law



　　I don't pull it out in public like Spencer

　　And pee 'til I've emptied my whole tank

　　I don't wreck my car, wasted like Langill

　　Babe, I'm just try'n' to be frank



　　When you look at the scum that's around us

　　I'm not as squeaky clean as is Wright

　　But I'm not as creepy as Mickey

　　And that helps me to sleep through the night

[Benjamin Grimm]

Rehiring Newman anyway, despite more than one warning, is not a good thing at all.



https://media.makeameme.org/created/bad-job-there.jpg>

[Ceetar]

Ms. Gorelick, who frequently counsels boards on governance issues, is a Director of both Amazon.com, where she chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board, and Verisign

Former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick will head the legal team for British oil giant BP PLC as it prepares to respond to legal challenges related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Greenwire reported Wednesday.

In order to get Jared and Ivanka into their White House jobs in the first place, Gorelick had to push the legal envelope hard, insisting that the federal anti-nepotism law did not apply to White House staff, a position with which many experts on legal ethics and Democrats in Congress disagreed.

This is who's looking into the Mets culture for Steve.

[Edgy MD]

Taken at face value, Sandy's more or less right: Different levels of infraction deserve different punishments, and despite this reportage, it would be wrong to conclude that anyone who didn't get fired has gotten off scot-free. (Is "scot-free" some sort of anachronistic ethnic slur? If so, I apologize.)



Where Alderson falls down is that this is the message he wants to send in the face of these allegations. Rather than throw his lot in with employees with grievances, he, speaking for the organization, presents sympathies on behalf of perpetrators. We don't necessarily know what question precipitated that answer, but it's a bad look.



More indicting to me was the line “Is there ever a statute of limitations on coverage of some of this stuff?”



That's just a pretty stunning thing to ask.

[G-Fafif]

From Newsday:

DENVER — After another report about the Mets' bad workplace environment, owner Steve Cohen said he will consider further change but for now is in wait-and-see mode while the law firm he hired conducts "a review of the organization's culture." That law firm is WilmerHale, which Cohen used in 2018 to similarly investigate his hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management, after a female employee filed a lawsuit accusing Cohen and his company of gender bias and pay discrimination. "[WilmerHale] will provide me with a report of what they find," Cohen said in a statement Friday. "I will listen carefully and then take any steps I believe are appropriate based on the findings." That was the entirety of the Mets' public response to a report Friday morning from The Athletic, which detailed more examples of inappropriate behavior by team employees and the Mets' questionable handling of the internal complaints.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Yeah Sandy criticizing the media just for asking is a really bad look.

[Lefty Specialist]

God, how could any woman ever want to work in this organization? It sounds like a hellish work environment. And typically Wilponian.



Sandy really comes off badly tone-deaf here.

[ashie62]

Sandy may be gone in a day or two.

[smg58]

If Cohen is smart, he rips the front office up and starts over. I don't think anybody is salvageable, starting with Alderson. The team will be better for it.

[kcmets]

Seems like that has to be done and likely happen and soon.

[Ceetar]

Steve released his statement. Sounds like he's going to do whatever his fixer tells him to do. Wouldn't be surprised if that's axe Sandy and the HR lady, but there's almost no chance they _actually_ fix things. He's going to do what the lady who got rich defending BP oil spills tells him to do, mark "fixed toxic front office" done on his list, and forget about it until next time.

[Willets Point]

Edgy MD wrote: (Is "scot-free" some sort of anachronistic ethnic slur? If so, I apologize.)

Apparently it https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/scot-free.htmlderives from an archaic word of Scandinavian origin that means "tax." So the phrase just means getting away with not paying your tax, literally or figuratively. So I don't think you're slurring anyone.