The Chicago Cubs trying to say the right things about Addison Russell, but it is coming off as disingenuous.
On Friday, Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, sat down for a lengthy interview with The Athletic about his decision to offer a contract to shortstop Addison Russell. After a series of allegations from Russell’s ex-wife, Melisa Reidy, Russell was suspended for 40 games to begin the 2019 season. It came as a surprise to the baseball world when the Cubs chose to tender Russell a contract for 2019, and Epstein’s most recent interview attempts to justify this decision.
Epstein says that “because it’s such a plague on society, our initial reaction was just to move on” before considering other ideas that led him and his team to hold onto Russell. Epstein wants a certain amount of credit for thinking about letting go of Russell, but as the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. And Epstein has already traded for a known domestic abuser in Aroldis Chapman in 2016, so his actions speak for themselves.
Also in the interview, Epstein proposes a disingenuous appeal to authority, saying that in his talks with “domestic violence experts,” he learned that “they do not believe in moving on or termination after the first domestic violence incident. What they do believe in is a second chance conditionally.” The issue with this is that this was not a one-time incident with Russell.
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Melisa Reidy’s account of her relationship with Russell doesn’t describe a single incident, but rather a pattern of physical and verbal abuse that made her fear for her own safety and that of her son’s. One of the most disturbing anecdotes in Reidy’s account states that Russell tackled her into the concrete and told her, “You like pushing me to the point where I have to act like this.”
Even one incident of domestic abuse should be unacceptable, but this kind of repeated behavior puts Russell’s character in a new light, and Epstein is trying to distract from this fact.
The most shared aspect of Epstein’s interview is the fact that the Cubs consulted Reidy about their decision, and she was supportive of the contract as long as it truly was on a conditional basis. It is undoubtedly important that the Cubs talked with the victim of Russell’s behavior, and it cannot be overlooked. But this anecdote more shows how Epstein was trying to check all the boxes to avoid a complete PR disaster.
There’s nothing wrong with second chances, but it seems like Epstein is trying to have it both ways. He wants people to believe he deeply cares about domestic violence while still paying millions of dollars to a serial abuser. Epstein purports himself to be some sort of crusader against domestic violence, but his real motives end with winning baseball games.
Theo Epstein should speak honestly about his decision to bring Addison Russell back to the Chicago Cubs rather than talking in empty platitudes to try to save face.