White Sox scouting director reportedly resigns after investigation into verbal harassment allegations

Chicago White Sox amateur scouting director Mike Shirley resigned on Saturday in the wake of an internal investigation into verbal harassment allegations, according to The Athletic.

Shirley was reportedly placed on administrative leave after the White Sox received an anonymous tip about his conduct at last month’s Area Code Games in Long Beach, California. He was alleged to have made racial and sexist comments both about coworkers and in front of coworkers.

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The White Sox human resources department reportedly launched an investigation into Shirley, interviewing members of his scouting department. It remains unclear what findings the investigation made.

This reportedly wasn’t the first time Shirley faced an internal investigation over his behavior. In 2022, he was investigated after a former employee left the club and flagged his behavior toward scouts from underrpresented groups. The tip was made to MLB and later passed on to the White Sox, whose investigation did not find any bias in his hiring practices or behavior.

This latest investigation reportedly included allegations of vulgar language about women and their bodies.

Shirley’s time with the White Sox goes all the way back to 2000, when he was first hired as a part-time area scout. He has since been promoted to full-time area scout, cross-checker, assistant scouting director and amateur scouting director, receiving his current role in 2019. The Athletic reports he had recently signed a contract extension before resigning.

Among the players Shirley signed during his time as a scout: Chris Getz, who became White Sox general manager in 2023.