PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. _ No Mets player was bit during the team's shark fishing excursion Friday, but the team still managed to stir up controversy.
The Mets received backlash after manager Mickey Callaway and starter Matt Harvey were seen in a photo with Donald Trump Jr. A group of about one dozen players, staff and executives went shark fishing Friday as part of a team-bonding exercise.
Members of the organization said the team's run-in with Trump Jr. was coincidental since he happened to be shark fishing at the same location.
"He just happened to be on the beach fishing. I guess it would be the same as you walk into a restaurant and somebody is in there eating. I don't think we can control that," Callaway said Saturday afternoon. "I guess I can call secret service and get their schedule and schedule things around it. See if they give it to me."
Infielder Phillip Evans posted the shot of Trump Jr. posing with the team on his Instagram account, and later took down the photo. Evans said Trump Jr. and his family had been working with the same guide earlier, and came out later in the day.
"I didn't intend it to be any political manner at all," Evans said. "I just thought it was another guy jumping in a photo."
Callaway said the activity was meant to allow members of the organization to interact in a fun environment, and he did not seem fazed by the backlash.
"It's New York, it's going to be fun, and it will be controversial at times," the first-time manager said. "I understand that's how it is."
