Former Mets manager Mickey Callaway accused of lewd behavior

Former Mets manager Mickey Callaway is accused of aggressively pursuing at least five women who work in sports media, according to a new report from The Athletic. The accounts from the five women, whose identities were kept anonymous in the story, detailed how Callaway had sent each of them lewd messages through various platforms and made continuous unwanted advances on them over the course of five years.

All five women claimed they were repeatedly contacted by Callaway over the course of long periods of time despite never reciprocating his advances. One woman claimed Callaway tried to pressure her into meeting him for drinks in exchange for news. Another claimed he thrust his crotch near her face when nobody else was around while she tried to report a story.

Callaway was hired by current Mets team president Sandy Alderson in 2018. The Mets claim in the story that they had learned of an incident reflecting this kind behavior in August 2018, two months after Alderson left the organization. Alderson has released the following statement:

“I am appalled at the actions reported today of former manager Mickey Callaway. 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 processes to ensure our vetting of new employees is more thorough and comprehensive.”

One woman in the report claimed Callaway’s inappropriate behavior was “the worst-kept story in sports,” and another questioned how any team could be unaware of this because “If they are vetting him, even an ounce of his personal life should reveal this.”

The Mets, under the Wilpons, Omar Minaya, John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and later Brodie Van Wagenen, allowed Callaway to continue managing the Mets despite having knowledge of the incident. He was fired in October 2019 and is currently serving as the Angels’ pitching coach.