Analysis: How Steve Cohen Managed His First Crisis as Mets Owner

Monday, January 18, 2021. At about 11:00 PM, this is the time the New York Mets entered more than a Twilight Zone, they entered the Forbidden Zone. An area where an employee of the team, a front office honcho, is accused and later admitted to sending graphic photos to a female reporter in 2016.

The ugly, and all too frequent, aura of sexism and harassment had engulfed the Mets, courtesy of their general manager of a little over a month, Jared Porter.

The texts and pictures he sent this woman are available on ESPN and are vile and disturbing to say the least. But what happened shortly after 11:00 PM on Monday sickened me nearly as much. Colleagues of mine, who will not be named, showed a pent up anger and disgust of what they see as sports being nothing more than a male-dominated profession, with women second rate.

One female friend, as staunch a Mets fan as I have seen, sent alternating texts online first screaming then crying that her beloved team employed a man such as Porter. A male cohort briefly left the chat due to nausea and becoming ill. Both were representative of much that was spewed on social media on Monday and one thing became certain: that these two brave people as well as dozens others would no longer root or be part of a team that employs anyone who would delve into disrespect and ill-repute.

Something had to be done, and done fast.

After a no-doubt sleepless night filled with meetings, with lawyers and other advocates, Mets owner Steven Cohen acted:

We have terminated Jared Porter this morning . In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it.There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.

— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 19, 2021

Tuesday, January 19, 2021. At 7:55 AM, the verdict was in and Porter was gone. Cohen acted swiftly and with purpose terminating a cancer in the ranks and excising it quickly. Scarcely 8 1/2 hours after the news dropped, the team proceeded in the only way it could, by eliminating a potential media and fan outrage seldom seen in N.Y. sports.

Cohen later in the day had Sandy Alderson, his president of baseball operations, answer questions from the press for about 30 minutes. The presser wasn’t all peaches and cream as Alderson made a faux pas or two, but the fact that a Mets officer was in front of microphones about 17 hours after this all started was a positive.

Towards the end of the day on Tuesday, emotions no doubt still raw in many, saw the return of normal baseball talk by and large on social platforms. The memory was still there and the ghosts had been stirred, but the swift response and reaction quelled much.

Saturday, December 26, 2020. At 1:55 PM, the New York Post published a Q and A session with Steve Cohen conducted by the Post’s Steve Serby. One of the questions Serby asked the Mets owner was, “What don’t you tolerate?” Cohen’s response seemed instant: “Unethical conduct. Lazy thinking. Complacency. Mediocrity. ”

Unethical conduct. And when Cohen’s organization had in its employ a person who acted unethically, he was terminated less than 24 hours after the story first broke. A decisive, quick move to cleanse his palate and keep the ideal of ‘cultural change’ within the Mets a reality. Also, Cohen showed he is a man of his word. He said in print he does not tolerate this sort of behavior and when faced with it, he eradicated it swiftly.

Steve Cohen didn’t become a billionaire by accident and although part of his financial history is murky, he is undeniably an excellent manager and a skilled business leader. Porter’s stupidity, if not acted on immediately, could have been a stain on the Mets organization tantamount to the Midnight Massacre or Willie Randolph‘s unceremonious firing at three in the morning.

But ever since Cohen took over in early November, he and his minions have preached the need for a cultural change or shift in the Mets organization. His vision has been clear and unwavering so far as he attempts to attain this goal.

So the silver lining?

Well, first one thing more about the dark cloud. I won’t soon forget the surreal nature of Monday night, with people I’ve known for a while now literally suffering at this horrid occurrence. Obviously, just the tip of the iceberg these friends of mine, but this could have swelled to titanic proportions if not handled correctly.

Cohen faced his first crisis as the Mets owner stoically, professionally and business-like. He kept his word about unethical employees and their consequences. The Forbidden Zone would not turn into the Forgiven Zone. No second chance, do it right the first time. He acted correctly. He acted in the only way possible. After all, this is not the “Same Old Mets”, it’s the beginning of a whole new culture.