The Houston Astros owner, Jim Crane, has written a letter of apology to a journalist he accused of “fabricating” a story that has overshadowed the team’s World Series campaign.
Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein reported last week that Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman yelled at a group of female reporters about closer Roberto Osuna, who was suspended last year for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy before being traded from Toronto to the Astros.
Astros owner Jim Crane sent me a letter on Saturday retracting the team’s original statement about my story. “We were wrong.”https://t.co/arvGceF4To pic.twitter.com/bw2TZI3fh2
— Stephanie Apstein (@stephapstein) October 27, 2019
Apstein’s report said Taubman “turned to a group of three female reporters, including one wearing a purple domestic-violence awareness bracelet, and yelled, half a dozen times, ‘Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so fucking glad we got Osuna!’ The outburst was offensive and frightening enough that another Houston staffer apologized.”
The Astros’ initially rebutted the story, saying “[Taubman’s] comments had everything to do with the game situation that just occurred and nothing else”, and accusing the magazine of “fabricating” the report. Days later, after an MLB investigation, the Astros fired Taubman and said his behavior had been inappropriate. They also apologized to Apstein.
On Sunday, Apstein tweeted a photo of a letter from Crane that she received on Saturday. “We were wrong and I am sorry that we initially questioned your professionalism,” Crane wrote. “We retract that statement, and I assure you that the Houston Astros will learn from this experience.”
The Astros are tied 2-2 with the Washington Nationals in the best-of-seven World Series. Game 5 is on Sunday night in Washington.
