The Astros were facing a Major League Investigation before the first pitch of the World Series, thanks to the taunting assistant general manager Brandon Taubman directed toward three female reporters Monday night as the team celebrated winning the American League pennant in the locker room after the game.
It was at that moment Taubman yelled “I’m so glad we got Osuna!” multiple times, and threw in a profanity for good measure.
Roberto Osuna is a closer the Astros traded for while he was serving a 75-game suspension stemming from allegations of domestic violence. The league investigated after Osuna was arrested. The mother of his child, like many women in similar situations, declined to press charges, but the league found enough evidence to feel comfortable in issuing the suspension, and the Blue Jays off-loaded him to the Astros.
There has been a lot of criticism of teams who see damaged players as a market efficiency, and one of the reporters in the locker room was wearing a purple bracelet in honor of survivors of domestic violence.
Another reporter, Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated, detailed Taubman’s actions in a published piece. The Astros released a statement and called the story fabricated. But then one by one, reporters who saw the public display came out to back Apstein’s accounting of events.
Take two for the Astros public relations department was to issue a statement from Taubman and another from owner Jim Crane. Taubman confirmed the events described in the Sports Illustrated story, apologized for the language he used, but then noted he was a committed husband and father and said the SI story didn’t represent him.
Crane, the team owner, detailed all the donations the Astros have made to domestic violence charities, like it is a carbon offset scheme for overlooking violent acts.
But there is a larger point to be made here, and one that goes beyond a champagne-soaked clubhouse and World Series aspirations. Beyond baseball itself.
And it’s this:
When a team lowers its values to take on a damaged player, that can be just the first compromise in a string of many. The team then has to publically justify its decision. It might get defensive about some of the criticism that follows. It needs to get marketing and public relations involved. It tacitly asks that fans take up the narrative, so that they can cheer for the team even when this player is front and center.
And then some people on the team might feel a special kind of validation after a measure of success. It might feel vindicated in the face of that criticism.
“Thank God we got Osuna!” Apstein quotes Taubman as yelling. “I’m so f-ing glad we got Osuna”
Major League Baseball said it is investigating what happened, given the differing accounts of events issued by Taubman and detailed in the Sports Illustrated story. The Baseball Writers Association of America has demanded an apology to Taubman and Sports Illustrated from specific people in the Astros front office, not just the generic team.
Taubman should be held accountable, but the entire team needs to take a look in the mirror. What compromises have been made, what decisions have been justified. What are the bigger consequences stemming from a decision to bring in a player suspended for an alleged act of violence.
One big one: The Astros became the worst story in baseball just as the World Series started.
Jane McManus is director of the Center for Sports Communication at Marist College.
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