The Houston Astros on Thursday announced they have fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman after a report that he taunted a group of female reporters over domestic violence.
Sports Illustrated reported earlier this week that, during a post-game celebration for the Astros winning the pennant, Taubman turned to several female reporters and began shouting, “Thank God we got Osuna,” referring to the team’s closing pitcher who repeatedly generates controversy over his history of domestic violence. At first, the team attacked the reporter behind the story, but eventually issued a backpedaling non-apology before a similarly skeptical Major League Baseball stepped in to say it would investigate the claims.
“Our initial investigation led us to believe that Brandon Taubman’s inappropriate comments were not directed toward any reporter. We were wrong,” the team said in a statement that also directly apologized to Stephanie Apstein, the reporter who broke the initial story. “The Astros in no way indented to minimize the issues related to domestic violence.”
