WFAN radio host Craig Carton has been highly critical this week of the way ESPN handled its bombshell story about former New York Mets general manager Jared Porter. Now, what began as some on-air criticism from Carton has turned into a rather animated feud.
Carton and Evan Roberts, who host the “Carton & Roberts Show” together, ripped ESPN earlier in the week for what they perceived as the network sitting on a sexual harassment story for years and then releasing it at an opportune time. Carton also accused Passan of taking credit for a story that Passan’s co-worker, Mina Kimes, had been working on.
As you might expect, none of that sat well with Passan. The longtime MLB reporter appeared on “The Michael Kay Show” Tuesday and unloaded on Carton and Roberts for their remarks. He explained that the timing of ESPN’s story was dictated by the woman who was harassed by Porter, not ESPN. Passan called the claims from Carton and Roberts “the most giant load of irresponsible garbage that I have heard in a long time.”
“The story waits for when the person whose it is, is ready to tell it. And so, she waited, and she left the industry where she was worried she was going to have backlash and potentially have her job harmed,” Passan explained, as transcribed by Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “And she saw Jared Porter’s rise to general manager of the New York Mets, putting him in a position of great power and great authority, and thought to herself, ‘This man, who has his dream job, ended up facilitating me losing my dream job. And I didn’t do anything … I didn’t do anything.’
“And so the idea that this story, four-and-a-half years after this incident happened, has any less resonance, has any less importance, and has any less right to be told — anybody who thinks that needs to shut up.”
You can hear Passan’s full comments below:
Jeff Passan is really, really pissed at the "irresponsible" WFAN hosts who suggested that ESPN sat on the Jared Porter story for four years.
[@TMKSESPN] pic.twitter.com/bhsWvrUGbl
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) January 20, 2021
Those who are familiar with Carton won’t be surprised to hear that he did not back down. He called Passan a “whiny little weasel” on his Wednesday show and sent several tweets ripping the reporter before that. Carton accused ESPN of not caring about Porter’s victim and said some might call it sexist that Kimes was “forced to share credit for that story with senior male reporter,” referring to Passan.
Here are some of the tweets:
for the record at no point did @EvanRobertsWFAN or I ever say the story wasn't worth telling or important – it is – we need to shed a light on harassment in sports and we need to allow female journalists 2 report their own stories without sharing it with the man who outranks them
— Craig Carton (@craigcartonlive) January 20, 2021
……he had nothing to do with the reporting which makes you wonder why he’s taking credit away from the female reporter who did all the actual work. Some may call that sexist. Woman reporter has huge story forced to share credit for that story with senior male reporter.
— Craig Carton (@craigcartonlive) January 20, 2021
Passan said Kimes had been working on the story since 2017 and that he contributed to the reporting more recently.
Porter was fired by the Mets on Tuesday in the wake of the allegations. He is accused of harassing a foreign female reporter with several text messages and an explicit photo.
Carton returned to WFAN late last year after he spent time in federal prison for running a fraudulent ticket scheme. He has always been known for his unapologetic approach, so the back-and-forth with Passan is right on brand.
