Former Mets manager Mickey Callaway was suspended as pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, one day after a report surfaced detailing alleged inappropriate interaction with five women who work in sports media in recent years.
The 45-year-old Callaway allegedly sent topless photographs and asked at least one of the women to send him nude photos, according to Monday’s report in The Athletic.
Callaway was suspended for now because he has denied any wrongdoing, according to multiple reports. The Angels said they would work closely with MLB in the league’s investigation into the matter.
The Mets fired general manager Jared Porter on Jan. 17 after ESPN reported he had sent a female journalist crude text messages while working for the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
Both Callaway, who served as Mets manager for two seasons in 2018 and 2019, and Porter, were hired by current Mets president Sandy Alderson. At least three of the unidentified women in The Athletic report claimed they received unwanted advances from Callaway during his time in New York.
He previously had served for five seasons as Cleveland’s pitching coach, and the report stated that Callaway’s advances spanned at least five years with all three teams.
First-year Mets owner Steve Cohen said Monday in a statement that the conduct Callaway was accused of is “completely unacceptable and would never be tolerated” under his ownership.
“I was appalled by the actions reported today of former manager Mickey Callaway,” Alderson said in his statement released by the Mets. “I was unaware of the conduct described in the story at the time of Mickey’s hire or at any time during my tenure as general manager.
“We have already begun a review of our hiring process to ensure our vetting of new employees is more thorough and comprehensive.”
Still, the report stated that the Mets in August of 2018 investigated an incident that allegedly happened before they hired Callaway. The Mets have not commented on the conclusion of that investigation or whether Callaway was disciplined.
“Rather than rush to respond to these general allegations of which I have been made aware, I look forward to an opportunity to provide more specific responses,” Callaway told The Athletic in a statement. “Any relationship in which I was engaged has been consensual and my conduct was in no way intended to be disrespectful to any women involved. I am married and my wife has been made aware of these general allegations.”
Callaway reportedly contacted the women via text messages, emails or social media, with one New York-based reporter alleging that the Mets manager sent her a series of shirtless selfies “two or three times a week” for a period of a month, while asking her to reciprocate with nude photos of herself. The woman also said Callaway would massage her shoulders in the dugout “when he thought no one was looking” and the inappropriate texts continued after he left the Mets and was hired by the Angels.
Another female reporter alleged that Callaway emailed her with requests to “get drunk” after she declined to give him her phone number.
“He was pressing me to have drinks with him in exchange for news,” the female reporter told The Athletic. “He was pressing me to, or at least it felt like it. I felt like, well, this guy is a source; coffee in broad daylight seems a little safer.”
A third female journalist said she’d been “warned he was gross” when Callaway was first hired by the Mets and alleged that the manager once put his leg on a railing during a one-on-one interview to position his crotch near her face. She also claimed to have received shirtless photos via text from the manager.
