The Houston Astros fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for inappropriate comments directed at a group of female reporters.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Tomorrow night, the Houston Astros take on the Washington Nationals in game three of the World Series. The Astros are down two games to none, but their problems do not end there. They’ve just fired their assistant general manager days after he delivered a profane defense of Astros pitcher Roberto Osuna to a group of female reporters. NPR’s David Folkenflik has been following this story. He joins us now.

Hey, David.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.

CHANG: So help us understand why this assistant GM, Brandon Taubman, is being fired today?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, Taubman not only offered a profane rant at these three female reporters, but he did so prompted by nothing. He was essentially yelling, I’m so glad to have gotten Osuna. We’re glad to have – expletive deleted – gotten Osuna. And he was directing it at them. What was not initially clear was he’s really directing it at one of the three reporters, and she’s a woman who had tweeted a lot about domestic violence. She had a domestic violence awareness bracelet on her wrist, and she had tweeted about domestic violence after a couple of Osuna’s appearances last year. That was a sore spot for the Astros, who picked up Osuna in exchange last year from the Toronto Blue Jays after he had been arrested by Canadian authorities for beating the mother of his child. And he was suspended 75 games, so that was a very sore spot. He was screaming about that player to a woman who had been trying to raise awareness about domestic violence.

CHANG: Yeah. But what I don’t understand is this outburst happened days ago. Why are the Astros taking this step now? I mean, didn’t they initially deny Apstein’s entire account of the whole incident?

FOLKENFLIK: That’s right. Not only did they deny it, they said that she and Sports Illustrated had fabricated the count. I spoke to eyewitnesses. Others have vouch for the fact it was accurate. They’re just wrong, and they have not apologized for that very serious charge against a working journalist. They’re doing it now because the pressure is intense. Major League Baseball has said it’s investigating. And basically, all of sports journalism has rallied behind these reporters. There’s been a lot of criticism also for the Astros for being insensitive to domestic violence not only in the outburst but now the decision to trade for Osuna after that accusation of domestic violence had come to light as well.

CHANG: That’s NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.

Thanks very much, David.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

The Santa Anita race track near Los Angeles is preparing for the high profile Breeders’ Cup next month. But horse deaths have continued this season, despite government investigations.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

It’s a new season at the Santa Anita Racetrack outside Los Angeles, but one troubling aspect has not changed. Horses keep dying. One died over the weekend, bringing the total to 34 since December. That’s despite warnings from California Governor Gavin Newsom that he will shut down horse racing in the state if the industry doesn’t clean up its act, and it’s despite a criminal investigation from the L.A. district attorney’s office. Ben Bergman has more.

(SOUNDBITE OF BUGLE PLAYING)

BEN BERGMAN, BYLINE: Looking out across the track to the palm trees and the mountains in the distance, it’s hard to imagine a more picturesque setting for horse racing.

(SOUNDBITE OF HORSES RACING)

BERGMAN: On a recent 87 degree fall day, 2-year-old fillies – those are young females – competed for a $50,000 purse.

(SOUNDBITE OF HORSES RACING)

BERGMAN: There were less than 5,000 fans in the stands. Attendance is down this season. On Saturday a 3-year-old gelding broke his front left ankle and was euthanized. Last month a colt broke both front ankles and had to be put down a month after testing positive for an illegally high dose of painkillers.

KATHY GUILLERMO: I’m angry.

BERGMAN: Kathy Guillermo is senior vice president of PETA.

GUILLERMO: I’m angry because we asked the Los Angeles district attorney to launch an investigation seven months ago, but we still have no results from those investigations.

BERGMAN: The DA’s office wouldn’t comment. Guillermo says it’s unacceptable that racing continues.

GUILLERMO: I think we need to suspend racing until we have solid answers. I just don’t think a sport is worth the lives of these animals.

BERGMAN: So why not halt competition?

ALEXIS PODESTA: I mean, I think that’s a good question.

BERGMAN: Alexis Podesta oversees the California Horse Racing Board, which regulates the industry.

PODESTA: I would respond to it by saying that this is a big industry. There are a lot of jobs and livelihoods involved in it. I would want us to be very cautious about ending an industry and killing a number of jobs without all of the facts.

BERGMAN: Podesta says racing has become much safer in California because of new rules like increased drug testing and exams. Thanks to a new state law, the board now also has the power to suspend races. Last season it tried to do that at Santa Anita but didn’t have the authority to do so. Podesta says there’s also this.

PODESTA: Over the last decade we’ve seen a fairly dramatic decline in the number of horse fatalities during racing.

BERGMAN: This will surprise a lot of people. Despite all the attention, according to the racing board, during the last fiscal year, there were actually slightly fewer deaths than normal at Santa Anita, and statewide, there were 144 fatalities. That’s by far the lowest in the past decade. The board’s chief veterinarian Dr. Rick Arthur says most people haven’t thought about how dangerous the sport is until recently.

RICK ARTHUR: I think historically, horse racing has kind of lived in a bubble, and I think the anger of the public about these fatalities has made people wake up.

BERGMAN: Earlier this year the embattled Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita, appointed Dr. Dionne Benson at its first chief veterinary officer. She says any number of deaths is unacceptable.

DIONNE BENSON: Our goal and our true finish line is to have zero fatalities. Whether we ever reach that is a different story, but we have to keep moving in that direction.

BERGMAN: Next month one of horse racing’s biggest events, the Breeders’ Cup, will be held at Santa Anita. Organizers had considered moving the race, but they decided not to because they said the track enacted effective and meaningful changes.

For NPR News, I’m Ben Bergman in Los Angeles.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

There’s not a lot that folks in Washington, D.C., seem to be able to agree on except one thing: there’s plenty of excitement about the Nationals making it to the World Series for the first time.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It’s been more than 80 years since the World Series was played in Washington, D.C., but that’s about to change. Last night, the Washington Nationals completed their sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals and will take on either the Yankees or Astros next week. Hannah Schuster of member station WAMU tells us what this moment means for the nation’s capital.

HANNAH SCHUSTER, BYLINE: Yesterday was a beautiful night for baseball, but today, it poured. Andrew Martin (ph) says that’s how you know anyone who braved this weather to visit the Nationals team store today is a true diehard fan.

ANDREW MARTIN: We’re so incredibly psyched by this. We actually had tickets to the game tonight and are delighted not to be able to use them and not just because it’s pouring rain right now.

SCHUSTER: The 45-year-old has been a fan since the team arrived in 2005 and even attended their first game. He got used to the mediocre years and when the Nats got bounced out of the playoffs. Martin’s kids, 6 and 8, are huge fans, too. But Martin is also excited about what this win means for the entire Washington region.

MARTIN: Especially in a city as transitory as D.C. where everyone comes from someplace else, you bring your own fandoms when you move here. But, yeah, this is something that the whole city can get behind and get together. And it gives us a sense of shared identity that is often lacking in a city like this.

SCHUSTER: D.C. has been championship starved for quite some time, but that’s changing. Last year, the Washington Capitals won hockey’s Stanley Cup. And just last week, the Washington Mystics claimed their first ever WNBA championship.

DEBBIE TAYLOR: I think for younger people, particularly, who’ve never seen any kind of championship until the Capitals it’s just something that they can, you know, hang on to. And their kids will be Nats fans forever now because they’ve experienced this.

SCHUSTER: That’s former Arlington Virginia resident Debbie Taylor (ph). She and her husband, Brian (ph) retired to North Carolina a few years ago but came back to watch yesterday’s game in person.

BRIAN TAYLOR: You stood all night long because everybody wanted to see every single pitch.

SCHUSTER: Washington, D.C., is a place where people talk a lot about politics and government, but for a change, that’s pushed aside. The enthusiasm and excitement here are all about the World Series. Resident Rich Dooley (ph) puts it this way.

RICH DOOLEY: I think if we come out winning the World Series, it can only bring the city together more. There’s no divisiveness in a winner.

SCHUSTER: Only six days until Game 1 when the Nationals take on either the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees.

For NPR News, I’m Hannah Schuster in Washington.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

On Twitter this weekend, Pope Francis celebrated five newly recognized #saints — but that hastag is usually about the New Orleans Saints. The team went on to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-6.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I’m Steve Inskeep. Pope Francis said more than intended over the weekend. On Twitter, the pontiff celebrated five newly recognized saints. We give thanks to the Lord for our new saints, he wrote. It was social media, so he included a hashtag – #Saints. Thing is most other tweets with that hashtag are about the football team. New Orleans Saints players welcomed the inadvertent blessing and went on to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

For the first time in decades, Iranian women were allowed to attend a soccer match in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Fans of Thursday’s soccer match between Iran and Cambodia were especially excited – dancing, waving flags and chanting for the home team. It was a historic match not on the field but in the stands.

(CHEERING)

PFEIFFER: For the first time in almost four decades, women were allowed to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch a men’s national soccer team match. ABC producer Somayeh Malekian was covering the game. She says the women who were able to go were ecstatic.

SOMAYEH MALEKIAN: Everyone was shouting or blowing into their horns they had brought with themselves.

PFEIFFER: And some of them were overcome with emotion as they entered the stadium for the first time. That’s according to Iranian journalist Maryam Papi.

MARYAM PAPI: When we went through the dark tunnel of the stadium and saw the huge green field, it was a great experience. Some of the girls – they just started crying when they saw the field.

PFEIFFER: Women had been prevented from entering stadiums in Iran since shortly after the Islamic Revolution. Female fans have tried getting around the restriction for years, sometimes dressing as men to sneak in. But it was only after the death last month of Sahar Khodayari that the ban was lifted. She was caught trying to enter a stadium disguised as a man and sentenced to six months in prison. To protest, she set herself on fire in front of the courthouse and died days later. Her death increased international pressure on Iran to end the ban.

MALEKIAN: It was very bitter victory without having her at the stadium. And everyone remembers her, I’m sure, in every single time that women will go to this stadium.

PFEIFFER: Somayeh Malekian says there’s still room for improvement. On Thursday, women were allocated only 4,000 tickets, even though the stadium seats around 80,000 and was largely empty. Women were also separated from men, preventing many of them from sitting with their families. Still, Malekian thinks it’s a step in the right direction.

MALEKIAN: Yes, it was a small success, maybe. But it was no way meaningless, not at all.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.