The Chicago Cubs just concluded a press conference where owner Tom Ricketts and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein spoke at length about the allegations of domestic violence against Addison Russell, MLB’s investigation of those allegations, and the decision to put him on administrative leave pending that investigation.
On the whole, it was about what you’d expect. Epstein and Ricketts met with Russell this morning to inform him of MLB’s decision, and they will not be taking further investigative or disciplinary action while MLB’s process is playing out – the joint domestic violence policy actually prohibits teams from doing so.
Epstein would not speculate on the future with respect to the Cubs and Russell because this investigatory step is supposed to play out in order to provide for a fair and just resolution. The Cubs take the allegations seriously, and they supported MLB’s decision to place Russell on administrative leave at this time. The league did not make this same decision last year when allegations first surfaced because they were based on a third party’s comment on Instagram, whereas now there is a direct allegation from a victim.
More from the press conference, including some video at the end:
Epstein said he was surprised by contents of blog. “Late last night before I went to bed I saw the post and I immediately reached out to the league’s investigative body to ask if they could verify any of what was in the post because it was so disturbing.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) September 21, 2018
Theo said he was surprised late last night when he learned of blog, alerted MLB immediately.
“What matters is getting a fair resolution.”— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) September 21, 2018
I know him in a baseball context . Epstein said about Russell . You don t always know people beyond .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) September 21, 2018
Epstein on meeting with the players today: We wanted them to have the information and inform them that Russell was placed on administrative leave. We wanted them to know how seriously we take accusations of domestic violence. @WGNTV
— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) September 21, 2018
Theo and Tom address the media re: Addison Russell #Cubs pic.twitter.com/zLLLAu0UAU
— Free Agent Writer Cat Garcia (@TheBaseballGirl) September 21, 2018
Theo Epstein said of Addison Russell’s status with the Cubs: “We concur that (administrative leave) was appropriate in that situation.”
More: https://t.co/cG5en6x2Cs pic.twitter.com/s56uJ2VMdF
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) September 21, 2018
— Free Agent Writer Cat Garcia (@TheBaseballGirl) September 21, 2018