Washington » The New York Mets will conduct an investigation into reports that vice president of player development Tony Bernazard earlier this month challenged members of their Double-A Binghamton affiliate to fight him during a postgame tirade.

"We do take these matters seriously and we are going to investigate these reports. ... We need to follow up and we plan on doing that," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Wednesday before the Mets finished a three-game series at Washington.

The New York Daily News reported Wednesday morning that Bernazard, while visiting the Binghamton Mets in early July, removed his shirt during a clubhouse meeting with team members, then challenged them to fisticuffs. Bernazard reportedly directed much of his anger at infielder Jose Coronado, the newspaper wrote.

Minaya told the newspaper he was aware of the alleged altercation and acknowledged that Bernazard had spoken to the minor leaguers in "a stern voice," but said he wasn't privy of details of the reported blowup.

Minaya refused to detail how the investigation would be handled, how long it would take or what possible disciplinary actions could be taken against the 52-year-old Bernazard, who has held his current position since December 2004.

Bernazard has come under fire because the Mets' farm system has not been able to supply players to replace injured stars like outfielder Carlos Beltran, first baseman Carlos Delgado, starting pitcher John Maine, shortstop Jose Reyes, setup man J.J. Putz and closer Billy Wagner. The Mets currently have nine players on the disabled list.

The Mets' two top affiliates -- Triple-A Buffalo (34-58) and Binghamton (37-58) -- are both struggling. Buffalo owns the worst record in the International League and Binghamton began play Wednesday last in its division with the Eastern League's second-worst record.

Minaya said that he had spoken with Bernazard, who has returned to his home in Princeton, N.J. Minaya would not say whether Bernazard would continue his regular visits with the Mets' farm teams.

"We'll sit down and talk this weekend," Minaya said. "We'll sit down with the owners and see how we're going to handle it."

Bernazard played 10 seasons for Montreal, the Chicago White Sox, Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit. From 1992 until he joined the Mets, Bernazard was a special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Can an Olympic athlete be a pimp?

A lot of women will need to have a lot of sex with a lot of men to get Logan Campbell to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Yes, you read that right. Campbell, to cut a long story short, is a New Zealand taekwondo athlete who has opened a brothel to finance his ambition of winning an Olympic medal in London.

At the last Games, in Beijing, Campbell competed in the 68-kilogram category only to be swept aside in the first round by eventual bronze-medal winner Sung Yu-Chi of Taiwan.

To do better in London, Campbell figures he needs roughly $200,000 so that he, a doctor and a coach can travel, train and compete beforehand in Europe and Asia. Unlike last time, Campbell doesn't want his parents to foot most of the bill.

"My mother has wanted a new kitchen for the past 10 years but hasn't been able to do that because she has spent all her money on my taekwondo," he says.

Hence his turn to brothel-keeping. He has more than a dozen women handing over half their earnings to him. It is, in his words, "a good moneymaking industry."