Former sportswriter Kat O’Brien revealed in an op-ed for the New York Times that at the age of 22, she was raped in 2002 by an MLB player while conducting an interview as a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas. O’Brien did not identify the player because she believes being forthright nearly two decades later can still have repercussions.
“I choose not to name him because it would only open me up to the possibility of having dirt thrown on my reputation; even all these years later and in the wake of the #MeToo movement, a former professional athlete wields considerable power,” she wrote. “I hope I can help bring about systemic change rather than seek unlikely-to-come justice for one horrible act.”
O’Brien said the firing of former New York Mets general manager Jared Porter earlier this year for sending dozens of inappropriate text messages, including an unsolicited photo of his genitals, to a female reporter convinced her to come forward with her past trauma.
O’Brien would only say that she was speaking to the rapist about foreign-born players adapting to the United States in a hotel room when he made unwanted advances that started when he tried to kiss her. “I said, no, no, I don’t want that, but he pushed me over to the bed,’’ O’Brien wrote. “I tried to shove him. I said no, stop, no, stop, over and over. He pushed further, getting on top of me, pulling off my skirt, and having sex with me against my will.”
O’Brien said she didn’t speak about it because she was fearful that doing so would ruin her career. “I was 22 with no track record, and at that time — nearly two decades ago — most people in baseball would have rallied to protect the athlete. So I blamed myself,” she explained. “I must have been too nice, too trusting, too friendly and open. Even though I said no, it must have been a misunderstanding.”
Despite her efforts to remain quiet, O’Brien recalls a moment when an All-Star player stared at her outside of the clubhouse inside the Texas Rangers’ former ballpark and said the name of his teammate who raped her. It dawned on her that the rapist was likely painting himself to be “a stud,” and making others believe she was “some girl who was there to pick up ball players instead of doing my job.”
O’Brien was also subjected to what she calls “smaller daily assaults” that came with being a female reporter in a male-dominated field. Such occurrences included a “false” rumor that landed her a job covering the Rangers by sleeping with a team exec, and players suggesting that she wear thongs or nothing at all so “they couldn’t see my panty lines.”
O’Brien hopes that by sharing her story, other women will feel comfortable about speaking up when inappropriate incidents arise.
