At Justin Verlander’s request, the Astros blocked a Detroit Free Press reporter from his post-game media session Wednesday night.

On Thursday, Verlander explained why, labeling past behavior of the reporter, Anthony Fenech, as “unethical,” and said he reached out to the paper to give it an opportunity to send a different writer, but he didn’t get a response. The Free Press denied hearing from Verlander, who spent the first 12-plus seasons of his career in Detroit with the Tigers.

“Blocking a working reporter from doing his job is unprofessional, disappointing and intolerable,” Free Press executive editor Peter Bhatia said. “We will be protesting to MLB and the Astros.”

Banning a reporter from an interview violates Baseball Writers’ Association of America protocol. It may also violate the collective bargaining agreement. Section 2 of the Regular Season Club/Media Relations Guidelines in the CBA gives media access to both clubhouses “no later than 10 minutes following the final out of each game.” Fenech wasn’t allowed in until 19 minutes after the game was completed. Other credentialed media were allowed in six minutes earlier.

The Astros put out a statement Thursday afternoon backing Verlander and declaring their actions had been “appropriate.”

“Reporter Anthony Fenech was delayed temporarily from entering the Astros clubhouse following last night’s game,” the statement read. “This course of action was taken after taking into consideration the past history between Fenech and one of our players, Justin Verlander, Verlander’s legitimate concerns about past interactions with Fenech, and the best interests of the other media members working the game. We chose to prioritize these factors when making this decision.”

Verlander went the distance in Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Tigers. Fenech was then blocked from entering the clubhouse by three Astros security guards. He was allowed in once Verlander was done speaking. The day before, Verlander declined to speak to reporters with Fenech around.

Verlander tweeted twice on the matter, saying he again tried to reach the Free Press to explain his side of the story, but didn’t hear back. The paper, however, said it had not been contacted by Verlander as of noon on Thursday and has offered to interview him.