Astros' Jim Crane Apologizes to Stephanie Apstein for Defense of Brandon Taubman

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane has apologized to Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein for the team's previous statement questioning her reporting and professionalism:

The first statement came in response to Apstein's report that Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman shouted "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so f--king glad we got Osuna!" toward a group of female reporters following the team's ALCS win over the New York Yankees.

Taubman's reported words were especially troubling considering Osuna was suspended 75 games by MLB for violating the league's policy on domestic abuse.

Taubman was fired Thursday for his actions.

The dismissal came after the Astros initially called the story "misleading and completely irresponsible." 

However, other reporters corroborated the initial report, including Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle and Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow admitted Thursday the first statement was a mistake.

"That original reaction by the Astros was wrong, and we own it as an organization," Luhnow said in a press conference.

However, Luhnow reportedly didn't commit to issuing a retraction when it was requested by Apstein, per Ben Strauss of the Washington Post.

Crane has now retracted the team's statement and apologized to the reporter, potentially allowing all parties to move past the incident.