Mariners CEO Mather resigns after derogatory remarks surface

In one 45-minute conversation, Kevin Mather undermined the Seattle Mariners far beyond being the organization with the longest playoff drought in baseball.

He took insensitive shots at a former All-Star from Japan and a top prospect from the Dominican Republic for their English skills. He admitted to the team possibly manipulating service time for some of its top prospects.

All this from a top executive who once was accused of harassing a female employee and kept his job despite a settlement.

The latest transgression by Mather ended up costing him his position as president and CEO of the Mariners. Mather resigned on Monday after video surfaced over the weekend of him expressing his views of the club’s organizational strategy and making insensitive remarks about players during a recent online event.

Mariners Chairman John Stanton announced the decision and said Mather resigned before a decision had to be made whether he’d be fired.

But the choice seemed predetermined as the firestorm over Mather’s comments raged since they were first posted to Twitter on Sunday — which is how Stanton first learned of their existence. There’s been no determination whether Mather will receive a severance or what will happen to his small ownership stake in the franchise.

“There were a number of comments made by Kevin that, as I’ve said, didn’t reflect the Mariners, don’t reflect what I believe, what our ownership believes, and were inappropriate,” Stanton said. “Those comments included some of the things that have been referenced with respect to our players, and in particular the importance of diversity and inclusion in our organization.”…..read more

 

Source: AP News

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