Astros Ass't GM Brandon Taubman: Asshole (and Now He Is a Fired Asshole)

The Talented Allen Ripley

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What a dick.

And in the center of the room, assistant general manager Brandon Taubman turned to a group of three female reporters, including one wearing a purple domestic-violence awareness bracelet, and yelled, half a dozen times, “Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so f------ glad we got Osuna!”

The outburst was offensive and frightening enough that another Houston staffer apologized. The Astros declined to comment. They also declined to make Taubman available for an interview.
Closer Roberto Osuna had allowed a two-run home run to tie the game in the top of the ninth. He had been, by Baseball Reference’s calculations and any intelligent observer’s assessment, the least valuable Astro that night. So why would Taubman choose that moment, to taunt that demographic? It’s not hard to figure out.
And that’s the irony of that interaction with Taubman. None of those women were talking to him. They weren’t even talking about Osuna. Taubman brought him up.
I'll be rooting for the Nats.
 

E5 Yaz

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Astros strike back

The Astros statement read, "The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible. An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else -- they were also not directed toward any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27899283/astros-deny-intent-assistant-gm-support-roberto-osuna
 

jon abbey

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Astros strike back

The Astros statement read, "The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible. An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else -- they were also not directed toward any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27899283/astros-deny-intent-assistant-gm-support-roberto-osuna
But this is all lies, no one was being interviewed at the time and three reporters have already confirmed the initial report on Twitter.
 

DeadlySplitter

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he gets no excuses despite being hammered, but the bizarre situation makes more sense if it was a drunken act.

of course, also shows his true colors even more.
 

Murderer's Crow

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My thoughts, exactly. My rooting interest in this series just got a lot clearer.
I think I'm like every other fan. You don't want to see people like Chapman and Osuna rewarded or easily forgiven for their transgressions but time can heal those opinions and you move on. I certainly prefer to not have them on my team. On the other hand, nobody ever truly forgets what happened and something like this paints the Astros as an insensitive organization who embraced his sins as an opportunity. This was obviously the case before, same with Chapman, but to have someone come out and admit it feels extremely icky.

Had the Yankees beaten the Astros and an Assistant GM yelled at female reporters how great Chapman is, I would be pretty disgusted.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Taubman used to be an investment banker, which makes me think he's got that douchebro attitude going. He's a dick and fuck him and Osuna to hell.
100%. I believe the women that stood up and mentioned what happened to SI. Taubman is a misogynist and that has no place in 2019. He's not on board with being apart of this culture so he needs to be shipped out for a year or two. I think he should be fired. Im not saying he can't be redeemed but I stand with all survivors and this is just a slap in the face to them.
 

InstaFace

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100%. I believe the women that stood up and mentioned what happened to SI. Taubman is a misogynist and that has no place in 2019. He's not on board with being apart of this culture so he needs to be shipped out for a year or two. I think he should be fired. Im not saying he can't be redeemed but I stand with all survivors and this is just a slap in the face to them.
Right. Surely there is someone who can perform the Assistant GM duties without also bringing negative PR to the organization via unforced errors.

That said, owner Jim Crane has a pattern of hiring morons. He himself has gone without any publicly reported incidents reflecting poorly on his personal character (unless you consider two divorces to be that). However, professionally, his company also had issues along these lines in the past:

In 1997, complaints were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding Crane’s Eagle USA Airfreight and its position on hiring blacks and women of child-bearing age. The EEOC issued a scathing 104 page report (most EEOC reports are said to run 3-5 pages), found that to be true, and added that Crane’s company conducted a practice of paying “female and minority employees less than white men who do similar work; did not investigate employee complaints of sexual harassment; and destroyed evidence that the company was instructed to retain as part of the two-year EEOC investigation,” according to a Houston Chronicle article from 2000.

In the Chronicle report:
Crane told his subordinates not to hire blacks because "once you hire blacks, you can never fire them." On other occasions, Crane explained the reason he wanted to keep blacks out of the company was that his top managers are bigoted and they would mistreat the minorities, "giving them no choice but to sue Eagle."

Witnesses also said Crane did not permit the company to advertise job openings because he did not want to create a paper trail of unhired qualified minorities.

To discourage blacks and women from applying, Eagle managers refused to let female and minority applicants enter its secured facilities to fill out job applications. Eagle disagreed with that assessment.

Crane also warned managers not to hire women of child-bearing age because their productivity would be low. And top company officers told employees that women aren't suitable for management positions because male managers won't work with a woman.
 

JimD

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Taubman used to be an investment banker, which makes me think he's got that douchebro attitude going. He's a dick and fuck him and Osuna to hell.
That was my first thought as well.

I'd be curious if there's any history there with one of those reporters he yelled at - maybe they were particularly critical of the team for acquiring Osuna. I'm not by any means attempting to manufacture a justification for Taubman's idiocy, just trying to puzzle out what he felt compelled to do so at that moment.
 

jon abbey

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Taubman used to be an investment banker, which makes me think he's got that douchebro attitude going.
I didn't want to jump to stereotypes, but Long Island to Cornell to Wall Street has to have a really high percentage of douchebros.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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That was my first thought as well.

I'd be curious if there's any history there with one of those reporters he yelled at - maybe they were particularly critical of the team for acquiring Osuna. I'm not by any means attempting to manufacture a justification for Taubman's idiocy, just trying to puzzle out what he felt compelled to do so at that moment.
Eh I'm not sure there was that much thought put into his actions. He was drunk and his misogyny was showing. Dude is a wall street bro and probably was handed a ton of things in his life. This brings another thing to light. Osuna. This dude did not get punished nearly enough for beating up his wife. In a world that is right and just the Astros would send out a press release relieving Taubman of his duties immediately and a seperate one releasing Osuna or at the very least keeping him off the World Series roster. Why should he get to enjoy the privilege? Bad behavior from men in power is inexcusable and needs to be punished.
 

InstaFace

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Man. Most of the wall street friends I have would never do that shit.
You have M&A bankers, floor traders, front-office guys as friends? The vast majority of employees at these big banks are regular people, most are in Ops or Tech or Risk or Finance or whatever, but "investment banker" usually refers to those in the high-paid glamour positions... you sure? I mean, I worked as a TMT banker very briefly, ran screaming from that profession, and knew maybe a hundred people at B-school who went into that career. The fraction with whom I'd enjoy a beer with is miniscule. I could name a few, but in general they lead very monochromatic, self-focused lives, without any particular reason to consider the feelings of others (unless the other is a CEO who's a client or prospect). jon abbey's stereotype rings very true for me.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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You have M&A bankers, floor traders, front-office guys as friends? The vast majority of employees at these big banks are regular people, most are in Ops or Tech or Risk or Finance or whatever, but "investment banker" usually refers to those in the high-paid glamour positions... you sure? I mean, I worked as a TMT banker very briefly, ran screaming from that profession, and knew maybe a hundred people at B-school who went into that career. The fraction with whom I'd enjoy a beer with is miniscule. I could name a few, but in general they lead very monochromatic, self-focused lives, without any particular reason to consider the feelings of others (unless the other is a CEO who's a client or prospect). jon abbey's stereotype rings very true for me.
The wall street friends I've had over the years partook in hookers and cocaine a lot. Not sure where the docile stereotype came from lol.
 

Bozo Texino

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Big 'Stros fan, here. They need to fire this asshole yesterday.

This is completely unacceptable behavior.
 

Murderer's Crow

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You have M&A bankers, floor traders, front-office guys as friends? The vast majority of employees at these big banks are regular people, most are in Ops or Tech or Risk or Finance or whatever, but "investment banker" usually refers to those in the high-paid glamour positions... you sure? I mean, I worked as a TMT banker very briefly, ran screaming from that profession, and knew maybe a hundred people at B-school who went into that career. The fraction with whom I'd enjoy a beer with is miniscule. I could name a few, but in general they lead very monochromatic, self-focused lives, without any particular reason to consider the feelings of others (unless the other is a CEO who's a client or prospect). jon abbey's stereotype rings very true for me.
Yes. My ex of 4 years and all of her friends from Goldman and Merrill.
 

InstaFace

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Yes. My ex of 4 years and all of her friends from Goldman and Merrill.
Fair enough. If you've made a few real friends among that group, you're batting better than I have.

Wall Street culture is starting to change, very slowly, what with fighting the hazing and obscene-hours-for-its-own-sake face time and rampant sexual harassment... but it doesn't sound like Taubman was there for any of that.

Prior to coming to Houston [in June 2013], Taubman worked for Ernst & Young as a derivative valuation expert. He was also a member of the Ernst & Young advisory team which consulted with the federal government during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Following his time at E&Y, he worked for Barclays Investment Bank in their Equity Derivatives group as an analyst.
OK, so he was mostly in audit and valuation, and only an actual banker for what was probably a 2-year analyst-ship. But the average Expected Douche quotient is still quite high.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

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Astros strike back

The Astros statement read, "The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible. An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player during a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else -- they were also not directed toward any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated's attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27899283/astros-deny-intent-assistant-gm-support-roberto-osuna
SI responds:

Last night, the Houston Astros released a statement calling into question the accuracy of a report by Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein on a scene she witnessed in the locker room during the Astros’ ALCS-clinching celebration. Sports Illustrated unequivocally stands behind Apstein, her reporting and the story, which was subsequently corroborated by several other media members present at the scene. Any implication that SI or any of its journalists would ‘fabricate’ a story in its detail or intent is both disappointing and completely inexcusable.
 

Marciano490

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It’s easy and proper to drag Taubman, but we’re all complicit. As long as we continue to root for players that commit domestic violence and/or the teams that employ them, we’re admitting we are okay with violence against women.

Being outraged toward Taubman seems like being mad at a tree rather than the whole rotten forest.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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It’s easy and proper to drag Taubman, but we’re all complicit. As long as we continue to root for players that commit domestic violence and/or the teams that employ them, we’re admitting we are okay with violence against women.

Being outraged toward Taubman seems like being mad at a tree rather than the whole rotten forest.
Very true. MLB needs to come down harder on these players. Chapmans penalty was a freaking joke. Same with Osuna. Minimum 2 year suspension plus fine payable to a Domestic Violence or womens charity. 1 year out of the game and 1 year of counciling.
 

jon abbey

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It’s easy and proper to drag Taubman, but we’re all complicit. As long as we continue to root for players that commit domestic violence and/or the teams that employ them, we’re admitting we are okay with violence against women.

Being outraged toward Taubman seems like being mad at a tree rather than the whole rotten forest.
I mean, you can keep going with this, do you watch TV? Movies? Listen to music? Live in the US or any number of other countries?

I think specific outrage towards Taubman here is very merited, dude went out of his way to throw this in those reporters' faces, he wasn't being questioned about it, Osuna wasn't being interviewed, he was just being a (presumably) drunken asshole. Also, it's pretty irrelevant but Osuna was the single worst Astro in that game by WPA after giving up the lead in the 9th, so especially odd timing for that outburst.
 

Marciano490

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I mean, you can keep going with this, do you watch TV? Movies? Listen to music? Live in the US or any number of other countries?

I think specific outrage towards Taubman here is very merited, dude went out of his way to throw this in those reporters' faces, he wasn't being questioned about it, Osuna wasn't being interviewed, he was just being a (presumably) drunken asshole.
His domestic abuser just triumphed over the other team’s domestic abuser. He was just saying the quiet part out loud.

I do watch TV and movies, and you’re right that violence and abuse is so pervasive in our society that I’m knowingly or unknowingly giving money to or watching a perpetrator. However, sports seems different to me and is a place I’m very comfortable drawing a line.

I don’t root for actors or producers, and to the extent I watch something at home, I don’t feel I’m contributing to the financial well being of someone whose conduct disgusts me. I would never buy a Michael Jackson CD or a ticket to a Kevin Spacey movie, and I’d certainly never purchase merchandise that directly or indirectly paid their salary.

What message do we give women when we cheer for people who have committed domestic violence? People can choose for themselves, but there’ll be hundreds or thousands of people in the stands in Houston wearing Osuna’s jersey. That bothers me every bit as much as what Taubman said.
 

E5 Yaz

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Similar to Cashman’s “reduced price point” commentary after the Chapman acquisition.
But, you see, that was done quietly and professionally ... so the fact they willingly chose to trade for, trade for value, then re-sign him means the Yankees are absolved of of any perception of being tainted.
 

jon abbey

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I don’t root for actors or producers, and to the extent I watch something at home, I don’t feel I’m contributing to the financial well being of someone whose conduct disgusts me. I would never buy a Michael Jackson CD or a ticket to a Kevin Spacey movie, and I’d certainly never purchase merchandise that directly or indirectly paid their salary.
it's the behind the scenes people though, Harvey Weinstein and all the others like him that have yet to be outed.
 

Marciano490

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it's the behind the scenes people though, Harvey Weinstein and all the others like him that have yet to be outed.
That’s fair. But there’s a huge difference between giving money to or rooting for/supporting someone who hasn’t been outed and someone who has. When you do the latter, you tell women they’re not worth protecting and men they can do whatever they want so long as they have a special talent and there aren’t cameras around.

Again, Taubman is a dick and deserves scorn. But he’s just the symptom of the larger problem. And, all he really did was state facts - Houston took on Osuna. He won the deciding game in the ALCS and now Houston fans will cheer for him in the World Series.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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It’s easy and proper to drag Taubman, but we’re all complicit. As long as we continue to root for players that commit domestic violence and/or the teams that employ them, we’re admitting we are okay with violence against women.

Being outraged toward Taubman seems like being mad at a tree rather than the whole rotten forest.
I'm outraged about the fact that he specifically directed his tirade toward three women reporters. (If SI's reports are to be believed.)

I really think that escalates what he did beyond just being a rotten branch of a tree that we all water from time to time. This is about more than being outraged at the content of what he said but about aggressively verbally accosting women to try to intimidate by trumpeting the achievements of a person who committed domestic violence.

I'm not sure I agree with your overall point -- but I understand it -- but I think this is about more than just a guy saying something repulsive. Context, intent and actions matter and he actually did something repulsive too.
 

moondog80

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I would never buy a Michael Jackson CD or a ticket to a Kevin Spacey movie, and I’d certainly never purchase merchandise that directly or indirectly paid their salary.
But the list of entertainers who have done things on par with Osuna goes way, way beyond Michael Jackson and Kevin Spacey.

I still listen to John Lennon. And if Roberto Osuna had gotten the final out against the Yankees, I would have been happy. I compartmentalize.
 
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John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Being outraged toward Taubman seems like being mad at a tree rather than the whole rotten forest.
How do you get rid of a whole forrest? One tree at a time.

In other words, you make it known that Taubman's bullshit won't be tolerated and maybe the next time one of these assholes tries doing something similar, they'll think twice.
 

jon abbey

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And, all he really did was state facts - Houston took on Osuna. He won the deciding game in the ALCS and now Houston fans will cheer for him in the World Series.
Which I think would be somewhat ok (for him to have said) if he was being interviewed and asked about this, but that's not what this was at all.
 

Marciano490

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How do you get rid of a whole forrest? One tree at a time.

In other words, you make it known that Taubman's bullshit won't be tolerated and maybe the next time one of these assholes tries doing something similar, they'll think twice.
That’s fair, but there’s only one guy who ever did what Taubman just did. There are lots of MLB teams employing abusers. Like I said, Taubman is a piece of shit and I hope he gets fired. However, the important issue over the long term is teams and fans not condoning abusive behavior not preventing executives from gloating about signing abusers.

And yes, I get that we can address both at once.
 

Montana Fan

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Taubman insulted people. He’s clearly an asshole and should be punished. Chapman and Osuna assaulted women, served a minor penalty, are getting paid again and are supported my millions of fans while no one complains about them. Marciano is on to something.
 

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Taubman insulted people. He’s clearly an asshole and should be punished. Chapman and Osuna assaulted women, served a minor penalty, are getting paid again and are supported my millions of fans while no one complains about them. Marciano is on to something.
It's much easier to pile onto a jackass who doesn't play the game.