Multiple employees within the New York Mets organization say their complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior have not been followed up, according to a report by The Athletic.
The report also details allegations of inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment by David Newman – the Mets’ chief marketing, content and communication officer who was rehired by the team last year – and former marketing executive Joe DeVito.
More than a dozen people, men and women, told The Athletic that Holly Lindvall, Mets senior vice president of human resources and diversity, was aware of complaints about harassing language and actions without action being taken against the perpetrators, complaints that were sexist. comments from former owner Jeff Wilpon and former manager Mickey Callaway. The people told The Athletic they felt Lindvall would rather keep ownership happy than investigate their complaints.
“It was clear her interest was to protect property and executives and not the office as a whole,” a former employee told The Athletic. “You couldn’t go to HR to feel protected, comfortable, whatever.”
Newman, who has been accused of making inappropriate comments about women’s performances while on the team from 2005 to 2018, told The Athletic he did not recall making such comments. Newman was transferred to his current position in November.
DeVito reportedly sent inappropriate text messages to women and gave a woman an unsolicited back rub. He resigned in March saying he wanted to reassess his career, but told The Athletic in an email that he “ will not be worthy of the allegations you hear with any response, except I’ve always tried to be a gentleman with everyone I work with and with whom I am personally involved. “
Team Chairman Sandy Alderson, who re-hired Newman, told The Athletic that portraying how the Mets handled allegations was unfair.
“Let me try to make a point as strongly as I can, okay? Not every instance involving men and women in the workplace is a capital crime, okay? Every time something happens, it doesn’t mean someone should be fired,” Alderson told The Athletic. “There are a lot of intermediate steps that can be taken, and we’ve done that in several cases. And as a result we’ve included the death penalty in some cases, but not every case gets to the level of execution. think that happens with these articles. “
The allegations are part of an ongoing 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; Ryan Ellis, former percussion coordinator who was also fired in January for obscene comments; and Callaway, who was 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 we have thoroughly and objectively investigated all complaints brought to our attention,” Lindvall wrote in an email to The Athletic. “Where our investigation confirmed misconduct, we have always taken prompt and appropriate action to remedy it.”
In March, owner Steve Cohen announced in a team-wide email that a law firm had been hired to investigate the Mets’ work culture, focusing on sexual harassment, misconduct, and discrimination. A copy of that email was previously obtained by The Athletic.