Astros VP Anita Sehgal Reportedly Behind Disastrous Team Statement Shaming SI Reporter
By Parker White
The more layers of this story that are revealed, the worse things look for the Houston Astros. Former assistant general manager Brandon Taubman made hideous comments to some female reporters following their Game 6 win in the ALCS regarding Roberto Osuna, who had previously been suspended by the league for domestic violence. Taubman has been fired for his actions, but that's far from the whole story.
In their initial statement regarding the incident, the Astros attacked Sports Illustrated journalist Stephanie Apstein, who witnessed the events firsthand, decrying her report as "irresponsible" and "misleading." The team later made a statement in which they issued an apology to Apstein, but they weren't specific about what they were sorry for-- you know, like calling her a liar and trying to ruin her professional reputation.
And guess who was behind that odious statement? Per a new report from Evan Drellich of The Athletic, that would be Astros vice president Anita Sehgal.
The person behind the @Astros statement attacking a journalist had not been known. Now, @EvanDrellich reports that it was team VP Anita Sehgal, whose actions humilated the Astros and helped stoke a nearly week-long PR fiasco that has since consumed the sport’s signature event.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 25, 2019
You can trash the rank-and-file of Astros PR team all you want, which would be valid, but Sehgal is in charge of marketing and communications for the Astros. She is understood to have approved the initial tone-deaf, offensive statement, leading to a week-long story that has nothing to do with the Astros being in the World Series.
Taubman saga exposes longstanding questions about the Astros culture under Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow https://t.co/qc9NbWOuAD
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) October 25, 2019
Of course, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow isn't innocent in this, either. He reviewed the team's messaging before it went out, and instead of insisting on fact-finding and presenting the situation in the right context so as to avoid smearing Apstein, he was fine just fine with how things went down.
At least initially.
Astros executive Anita Sehgal oversaw the smear of reporter Stephanie Apstein. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow reviewed it before it was sent out. Sehgal and Luhnow should be sanctioned for their attempt to ruin a career — all because of a story that inconvienced their baseball team.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 25, 2019
This entire front office should be reprimanded in some way by MLB. Yes, Taubman made a major mistake and deserved to be penalized for it. He set all these events in motion. But this was far from an isolated incident. The organizational culture in Houston has problems, and they clearly go far beyond a single assistant GM's indiscretions.