The Houston Astros made a bit of progress with the Brandon Taubman controversy Thursday, firing the assistant general manager and apologizing for his antics after Houston defeated the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
But just as soon as the organization took one step forward, they quickly took two steps back.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow addressed the media Thursday following Taubman’s firing. He was asked if he had personally reached out to Sports Illustrated reporter Stephanie Apstein, who both witnessed and reported on the incident.
His response seemed tame, at first.
“I have not — I’ve been traveling up here,” Luhnow said, per MLB Network’s Hazel Mae. “We’ve been — I had to have a pretty tough conversation this morning with someone that’s worked for me for a long time. But, I will as soon as I can.”
Apstein, however, was sitting in the same room, per Mae.
Luhnow: “ I have not – I’ve been travelling up here. We’ve been — I had to have a pretty tough conversation this morning with someone that’s worked for me for a long time. But, I will as soon as I can.” https://t.co/SRuh0iNG0r
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) October 24, 2019
To add insult to injury, Luhnow said “many people” saw the initial statement from the team, which called Apstein’s piece about the incident a complete fabrication.
“That original reaction by the Astros was wrong, and we own it as an organization,” Luhnow said. “There were many people involved in reviewing that and approving that, and I’m not going to get into the details of that. It was wrong. It was the Astros’ decision.”
#Astros GM Jeff Luhnow would not divulge who wrote or approved initial statements accusing SI of “fabricated story.”
“It was an organizational decision…. we were wrong.” pic.twitter.com/vW2vRJIV6A
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) October 24, 2019
When will this PR nightmare end for the Astros?
