As of now, there are no official charges of domestic violence against Chicago Cubs Shortstop Addison Russell. He is however, being formally investigated by Major League Baseball. Russell, via the Cubs Media Relations Department, issued the following statement today:
“Any allegation I have abused my wife is false and hurtful. For the well-being of my family, I’ll have no further comment.”
The Cubs told Russell to stay away from Wrigley Field and kept him out of uniform for tonight’s game against the Colorado Rockies. and don’t really know when their young, All-Star shortstop will return.
Russell’s private life was brought into the public sphere by his estranged wife, Melisa, who called him out as an adulterer on her Instagram account.
https://twitter.com/JATayler/status/872649530604478464
The post has since been deleted, but not before a woman claiming to be one of Melisa’s close friends accused Addison Russell of not just infidelity, but also physical and mental abuse of his wife.
It prompted the Chicago Cubs to issued the following statement today:
“Last night, we were made aware of a serious claim posted on social media about Addison Russell. We reached out to Major League Baseball and, following the protocol established by MLB, will fully cooperate with the Commissioner’s Office as it gathers pertinent facts. Addison will not be in uniform tonight to allow him to work through this matter.”
“This is a serious allegation by a third party on social media,” Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said at a news conference before Thursday night’s game.
“I was surprised to see the allegation and we knew we had to follow up.”
The Cubs maintain that the absence of Addison Russell should be construed as a suspension.
According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune:
“Baseball adopted its domestic violence policy in August 2015. Any accused player can be put on paid administrative leave for up to one week while the allegations are investigated, and the player can challenge that decision through an arbitration panel.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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