For all the naysayers that refused to believe it was common knowledge within the Cleveland organization AND for all that believed there was no reason for having a disgust for Callaway that superseded whatever he did on the field either good or bad. Out of the Athletic today.
Since the publication of The Athletic’s first article, more women have come forward to say that Callaway made them uncomfortable by sending them inappropriate messages and/or photos, making unwanted advances and more while they worked for the Indians. Additionally, in 2017, an angry husband repeatedly called the team’s fan services department to complain that Callaway had sent “pornographic material” to his wife. Those calls were brought to the attention of Antonetti, manager Terry Francona and general manager Mike Chernoff; the Indians spoke with Callaway about the matter. A Cleveland attorney spoke with the wife and said – in a phone call that was recorded – that Callaway had expressed remorse to him. The attorney added that “the Indians are frickin’ pissed as hell” at Callaway and offered to have Francona call the husband. Additionally, an MLB security official contacted the husband and told him: “Mickey wants this all to go away,” and the husband later emailed MLB directly about Callaway.
Over the past month, The Athletic has interviewed 22 people who interacted with Callaway during his years in the Indians organization, including 12 current and former employees. They say that Callaway’s sexual indiscretions permeated the workplace to such an extent that it would have been difficult for top officials to not be aware of his behavior, and they push back against any assertion that Callaway’s actions, when made public by The Athletic last month, caught team executives or MLB by surprise.
My first knowledge dated back to 2013, and came from the player ranks. At first I assumed it was the general womanizing that one associates with professional athletes. Didn't take long to figure out this had a different nature to it, and I was never even a employee of the org. Hard to believe the org had no knowledge when it was such an open topic within the clubhouse in general.
And there was knowledge of it outside the org also, as I was told in '17 by an agent friend, that - Cleveland had a problem in the pitching coach ranks and knew it. And there was real potential for a change.