The Houston Astros fired Brandon Taubman, their assistant general manager, on Thursday and apologized to the women Taubman made inappropriate comments toward, as well as to the reporter who made those comments public.
A Sports Illustrated article published Monday evening accused Taubman of yelling “Thank God we got Osuna,” at a group of female reporters in Houston’s clubhouse after the team’s American League Championship Series-clinching win over the Yankees on Saturday night. The reference was to Roberto Osuna, a relief pitcher for the Astros who was acquired last season as he was serving a 75-game suspension over accusations of domestic violence.
On Tuesday morning, the team issued a statement that claimed Taubman had been supporting a player during an interview, and referred to the Sports Illustrated report as a “fabrication.”
After assisting Major League Baseball in its investigation of the episode, the team reversed course.
“We were wrong,” the team’s statement read, in part. “We sincerely apologize to Stephanie Apstein, Sports Illustrated and to all individuals who witnessed this incident or were offended by the inappropriate conduct. The Astros in no way intended to minimize the issues related to domestic violence.”
The statement and firing came just one day after Taubman’s boss, General Manager Jeff Luhnow, was interviewed on a radio show and cast some doubt as to whether the true intent of Taubman’s comments would ever be known.
“What we really don’t know is the intent behind the inappropriate comments he made,” Luhnow said. “We may never know that because the person who said them and the people who heard them, at least up to this point, have different perspectives.”
M.L.B. has been conducting its own investigation into the incident, with Commissioner Rob Manfred addressing the situation before Game 2, which Houston lost to the Washington Nationals by 12-3, saying he was “really concerned.”
“I think that there will be a conversation with the club at the end of the investigation, as is often the case,” Manfred told reporters. “We’ll make a decision working with the club as to who should handle it, as opposed to exactly what the outcome is. At the end of the day, he is an Astros employee.”