ESPN's Jeff Passan, radio host Craig Carton feud over Jared Porter story

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 Jeff 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: