"During the past two days, the Astros pro-actively assisted Major League Baseball in interviewing Astros employees as part of MLB's investigation of the events published in the recent Sports Illustrated article.", the Astros said on Thursday afternoon, October 24, in announcing the firing. "I'm so (expletive) glad we got Osuna!" "We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist".
While Luhnow said Taubman's comments are out of character with what the organization stands for and don't speak to a cultural issue, his decision to approve the statement on Monday night and his comments on Thursday would say otherwise.
The team issued an apology to Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein, who initially reported on the incident, and to all individuals who witnessed the incident or were offended by it.
The decision was hard, the statement said, but it provided a chance to raise awareness about domestic violence.
The incident sparked controversy in the media world as the Astros released a statement condemning SI's reporting.
Taubman had admitted yelling support for relief pitcher Roberto Osuna as the Astros celebrated beating the New York Yankees to win the American League crown.
Luhnow said the Astros decided Wednesday "that we were going to take action unilaterally ahead of Major League Baseball making any recommendations".
"This past Saturday, during our clubhouse celebration, I used inappropriate language for which I am deeply sorry and embarrassed".
The Astros were criticized previous year for their acquisition of Osuna, who served a 75-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy, stemming from an incident that happened while he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Houston Astros have officially fired Brandon Taubman.
Taubman had reportedly clashed with one of the reporters in the past over the Astros' controversial recruitment of Osuna.
General manager Jeff Luhnow defended the Osuna trade when it was made despite the club's "zero-tolerance" policy regarding domestic violence.
The Astros first statement also slammed Sports Illustrated journalist Stephanie Apstein's account of the exchange as "misleading and completely irresponsible".
An executive of the Houston Astros, who are playing in the World Series, has been sacked for "inappropriate" comments made towards female reporters.
We are thankful to Major League Baseball and to everyone that cooperated in the investigation. We fully support MLB and baseball's stance and values regarding domestic violence.
"But as we continued to investigate, it was clear that they were meant to be heard".
