CLEVELAND – Indian president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on Wednesday he could not comment on his previous comments about Mickey Callaway’s behavior over the ongoing Major League Baseball investigation into sexual harassment allegations against the team’s former pitching coach .
Antonetti joined Terry Francona for the Zoom availability of the Arizona training camp manager, a day after a story from The Athletic, who said several former Indian employees showed up last month to say that the office the team was aware of Callaway’s behavior.
Unidentified employees responded to Antonetti’s public comments on Feb. 4 that he did not know about Callaway’s naughty actions until he read a previous story about Athletic.
At the time, Antonetti said that “there were never any complaints against Mickey during his time with us, or me, or our human resources department or other leaders.”
Antonetti was asked on Wednesday if he stayed close to his previous comments.
“I really want to answer that,” he said. “I am not able at the moment. The last time I spoke, the investigation had not yet begun, so I had more latitude with what I could share. With the ongoing investigation, the most important thing is that the investigation is able to- and maintains integrity, soundness, impartiality.
“And I don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize that investigation. Equally important, we’re looking forward to finding out what that investigation reveals, so that we can make sure we approach everything in its entirety and not in pieces.”
On Tuesday, Francona said there was no deliberate attempt to cover Callaway, who was with the Cleveland team from 2010 to 2017 – serving as a pitching coach for five years – before being hired as manager of New York. York Mets.
Callaway was suspended as a pitching coach in the Los Angeles Angels, pending the outcome of the MLB investigation.
Antonetti said he should have sent the team’s message on Tuesday, not Francona. He reiterated that the team “cooperates fully with the investigation.”
In the most recent story, the husband of a woman who had an extramarital affair with Callaway contacted the Cleveland team several times to complain about his behavior in 2017. Callaway told The Athletic that “any relationship in which I was engaged it was consensual and my conduct was in no way meant to be disrespectful to any woman involved. “
A Cleveland employee told The Athletic that Callaway’s behavior was “the worst kept secret in the organization.”
Antonetti, who has been with the Cleveland organization since 1999, said the team has already taken steps to “build an inclusive culture.”