Several employees in the New York Mets organization say, according to a report by The Athletic, that no action was taken on their complaints about inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
The report also sets out allegations of inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment by David Newman – the Mets’ head of marketing, content and communications, who was reappointed by the team last year – and former marketing staff Joe DeVito.
More than a dozen people, men and women, told The Athletic that Holly Lindvall, senior vice president of Mets for Human Resources and Diversity, was aware of complaints about the harassment of language and actions without taking action against the culprits, complaints containing sexist comments from former owner Jeff Wilpon and former manager Mickey Callaway. The people told The Athletic they feel Lindvall wants to keep ownership happy rather than investigate their complaints.
“It was clear that her interest was in protecting ownership and managers and not the office as a whole,” a former employee told The Athletic. “You could not go to HR to feel protected, comfortable and anything.”
Newman, who is accused of making inappropriate comments about the appearance of women during the team from 2005 to 2018, told The Athletic that he does not remember making such comments. Newman was re-appointed to his current post in November.
DeVito allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to women and rubbed one woman back unsolicited. He resigned from his post in March and said he wanted to reevaluate his career, but said in an email to The Athletic that he would not be worthy of the allegations you hear, except to say that I still always tried to be a gentleman. with everyone I work with and with whom I am personally involved. ‘
Team President Sandy Alderson, who reappointed Newman, told The Athletic that the portrayal of how the Mets handled allegations was unfair.
“Let me try to make a point as strongly as possible, OK? Not every case involving men and women in the workplace is a major offense, OK? Every time something happens, it does not mean that someone should be fired. is not, “Alderson told The Athletic. “There are many intermediate steps that can be taken, and we have done so in different cases. And in some cases we have included the death penalty as a result, but not every case rises to the level of execution. And that is what I honestly think with these articles happen. ‘
The allegations are part of a continuing pattern of inappropriate behavior within the Mets organization. Other people mentioned in previous allegations include former general manager Jared Porter, who was fired in January for explicit texts and images sent to a female reporter; former performance coordinator Ryan Ellis, who was also fired in January for outrageous comments; and Callaway, who are accused, among other things, of sending inappropriate text messages.
Lindvall defended how the Mets handled complaints.
“We have always had a strict policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and have thoroughly and objectively investigated all complaints brought to our attention,” Lindvall wrote in an email to The Athletic. “Where our investigation has confirmed that misconduct has taken place, we have always acted promptly and appropriately to rectify it.”
In March, owner Steve Cohen announced in a team-wide email that a law firm had been appointed to investigate the Mets’ workplace culture, focusing on sexual harassment, misconduct and discrimination. A copy of the email was previously obtained by The Athletic.