The accusations being leveled against Chicago Cubs shorts stop Addison Russell are quite serious. We must all approach this topic in the mature manner that it requires. At the risk of being Donald Rumsfieldian, we have some unknown knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns to cover.
Let’s get started as we try to make the listicle format high-brow and informative; an endeavor that is on par with attempting to make a hot dog haute cuisine or jorts haute couture.
Addison Russell investigation: Five Things We Don’t Know
1. Whether he’s innocent or guilty, and what potentially criminal behavior that he could be innocent or guilty of
Russell’s wife Melisa at least implied, if not blatantly claimed that the Cubs Shortstop was unfaithful, via her Instagram post. Then a commentator, which some claim is Melissa’s close friend, accuse him of mentally and physically abusing her. Literally, it’s a case of he said-she said right now.
2. When Addison Russell will return to action
After being told to stay away from the park last night, Russell is back at Clark & Addison today. However, it was made clear that he would not be in the line-up tonight against the Colorado Rockies.
3. Whether he will face domestic abuse charges or not
Currently, there is a Major League Baseball investigation of the situation, but there is no legal/criminal investigation.
Some of the Cubs’ shills in the media industry that pretend to be news organizations have spun the “investigation” into a more malleable sounding “fact-finding mission,” but you’re just playing politics with euphemisms at this point.
A source close to Addison Russell tells @CSNMooney, "there is no investigation to speak of now" — https://t.co/yHFndMzemb#CubsTalk pic.twitter.com/TuZpSaBcyv
— CSN Chicago (@CSNChicago) June 8, 2017
4. How this affects his future with the Cubs, and in baseball in general
At the end of the season, will he still be with the Cubs? What’s his trade value going to be if they are shopping him? Can he recover from all this, and get his career back on the right track? We’ll just have to wait and see.
5. Most Importantly, how will Russell the person handle this current rough patch and then move on with his life.
Addison Russell is just 23 years old, married (although currently estranged) with two little kids. Right now his family life is much more important than his professional life. Whether or not he recovers in baseball is much less important than how he recovers as a person.
Addison Russell Investigation: Five Things We Know
1. The messy personal life of Addison Russell is probably having a significant, if not serious impact on his on-field performances this season.
How could it not? He’s hitting just .209 with an on base percentage of .291, slugging of .335, for an OPS of just .626 These are all very subpar numbers that well below what we’ve come to expect from the 23-year-old thus far.
2. Private lives should be kept that way, but once someone airs dirty laundry in public, all bets are off.
No matter what happened or what didn’t happen behind closed doors, it is a shame that it now must all play out in public. If social media wasn’t around yet, then perhaps Melisa and Addison Russell would be handling this internally. However, once you let that cat of the bag, it will never go back in.
3. The Cubs have seen the warning signs with Addison Russell Coming for some time.
Evan Altman of Cubs Insider penned a must read column that gone a ton of traffic yesterday. It was written in February of 2016, but is more relevant today than ever. Here’s a very striking and important sentence:
“At the same time the rising sophomore is toning up in order to be in the best shape of his life, I’m told the Cubs have spoken with their young star about toning down when it comes to his participation in the nightlife scene and the so-called bro culture.”
4. The 2016 World Series Championship is a classic example of “don’t learn how the sausage the made.”
You know the classic phrase, “if you like the taste of sausage, DO NOT learn how it is made.” Because of Aroldis Chapman last year, you were already aware that this epigram (or maxim if you will) applies to the Cubs World Series title. Building a big time winner evokes another food proverb, “if you want to make an omelette, you got to break a few eggs.”
With the potential tampering in the acquisition of Manager Joe Maddon, the issues Starlin Castro had, the aforementioned Chapman and now Russell, the Cubs rebuild and thus crowning glory could not have been achieved without spending a lot of time in the proverbial “grey areas.”
Of course, everyone who succeeds does it. Major League Baseball is just like search engine optimization, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”
That's what's known in the business as "The Sports https://t.co/nUiWm7nYYD Principle" https://t.co/4KwNadiuUr
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) June 8, 2017
5. Most importantly, all of us on the outside must handle this in a grown-up, serious manner.
Eric B. and Rakim would tell you “don’t sweat the technique,” but we will. There is a professional, grown-up manner to cover this story, and then there is the blogger hiding behind a pseudonym and cartoon avatar kind of way. Fans, take your cues from the mainstream media on this one.
If you’re a White Sox, Cardinals, Brewers, Indians etc. supporter, don’t use the Addison Russell material to rib the Cubs. That’s just low-class and wrong. Please stay above board at all times.
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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