Angels suspend Mickey Callaway following harassment allegations

The Angels suspended pitching coach Mickey Callaway on Tuesday, pending an investigation by Major League Baseball. A story by Britt Ghiroli and Katie Strang at The Athletic on Monday detailed allegations by five different women of lewd behavior by Callaway over several years and multiple cities.

“Late yesterday we were made aware of the allegations reported in The Athletic,” Angels spokesperson Marie Garvey said in a statement. This morning we suspended Mickey Callaway, and will work closely with MLB to conduct a full investigation.”

Callaway provided a statement on Monday to The Athletic:

In response to an email from The Athletic, Callaway wrote: “Rather than rush to respond to these general allegations of which I have just been made aware, I look forward to an opportunity to provide more specific responses. Any relationship in which I was engaged has been consensual, and my conduct was in no way intended to be disrespectful to any women involved. I am married and my wife has been made aware of these general allegations.”

That Callaway is denying any wrongdoing, which was also reported Tuesday by Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, makes this a little different, at least procedurally, than Jared Porter and the Mets. A report that Porter previously harassed a reporter surfaced on Jan. 18, which Porter eventually admitted, and he was fired early the next morning.

There are five women accusing Callaway of harassment in The Athletic’s story, which includes screenshots of his texts, plus “an additional seven women who worked in various MLB markets said that, although they had not been approached by Callaway, they had been cautioned about him.”

But with his denial, any further action will have to wait until after MLB’s investigation.