The Mets' "admittedly disheartened owners," Fred Wilpon
and Nelson Doubleday, "saying that extramarital affairs are
not necessarily a reason to fire a general manager ...
nevertheless left open the possibility that Steve Phillips
would not return from his leave of absence" as the team's
GM, according to Murray Chass of the N.Y. TIMES. Phillips
took a "temporary leave" following a sexual harassment
allegation by a former employee and his admission that he
had an extramarital affair with her. Doubleday: "The sooner
this problem is resolved one way or another, the better off
the whole organization is." Wilpon: "We do not believe that
his admission of a consensual relationship of short-lived
duration with a woman is reason to say that he cannot carry
out his responsibilities with the Mets" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/10).
Wilpon: "This is a bump in the road for the organization.
Hopefully, it will be a short-term bump" (N.Y. POST, 11/10).
BUT IS IT? In N.Y., Cathy Burke cites a source who said
that Mets execs told team staffers "to shut up about the
scandal because it could cost the team millions," and the
team is "terrified any false step could cost" it "millions"
(N.Y. POST, 11/10). Mets Senior VP/Business & Legal Affairs
David Howard said that the team has "a comprehensive policy
regarding sexual harassment," but it "does not currently
cover consensual relationships between supervisors and their
subordinates" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 11/10). In N.Y., David
Waldstein writes, "As much as the Mets are saying nice
things about Phillips, they have no intention of bringing
him back. How could they possibly?" (N.Y. POST, 11/10).
LAWSUIT STATUS: In N.Y., Harvey Araton writes that "if
and when" a lawsuit is filed by the woman who claims to have
had an affair with Phillips, the Mets "will be a part of it,
not only as Phillips' employer but as the party that
relieved the woman of her job when minor league operations
were moved" from FL to NY. Araton, on the Mets' treatment
of the situation: "For all women scoring at home, the Mets'
legally orchestrated treatment of this story leaves one wife
[Phillips'] humiliated and one former lover forewarned that
her ex-employers mean business" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/10).
