Former Detroit Tigers assistant general manager Sam Menzin abruptly announced his resignation last week, and it turns out the decision came in the wake of a workplace misconduct investigation.
Menzin stepped down from his position last Thursday after 13 years in the Tigers organization. He said that he was seeking a career change and needed to move home to New York to deal with “some family issues.”
On Monday, Brittany Ghiroli and Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported that Menzin resigned just before the Tigers were going to fire him for improper workplace conduct. While the team did not share details of Menzin’s alleged conduct, two former Tigers employees told The Athletic that Menzin had sent them unsolicited lewd photos.
“Upon being made aware of the allegations as to Sam Menzin’s conduct, the club promptly completed an investigation. Before the club could terminate Mr. Menzin, he resigned,” the Tigers said in a statement. “This type of behavior is contrary to our standards and has absolutely no place within our organization. We have a positive and safe culture for our colleagues and will continue to emphasize respect, inclusion, and professionalism.”
The women who spoke with The Athletic said Menzin sent each of them photos of his genitals using the Snapchat app, where images are automatically deleted once the recipient views them. The women said they received similar photos from Menzin on occasion dating back to 2017. A third woman who no longer works for the Tigers said Menzin also sent her graphic photos at some time around 2018 or 2019.
A human resources official with the Tigers was in contact with women as recently as last week to inquire about whether they had received photos from Menzin, according to The Athletic.
One of the women said she did not report Menzin’s conduct sooner because of his status within the organization.
Menzin was hired by the Tigers as a baseball intern in 2012. He was promoted to analyst and coordinator in baseball operations under former general manager Dave Dombrowski. The 34-year-old eventually worked his way up to assistant GM in 2021 and had served under three different lead baseball operations executives.
