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On the topic of Addison Russell

A Boy Named Seo Dec 19 2018 04:17 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 20 2018 08:31 AM

You guys up-to-date on this? The Cubs re-signed Addison Russell for 2019 after he served a 40-game suspension last year for violating the league's DV policy, even though he initially denied all allegations of abuse from his former wife. The Cubs and Russell released simultaneous statements when he inked the contract. Both received a fair amount of praise for the statements. [tweet:2kjx56a4]https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1068595677003960321[/tweet:2kjx56a4] After reading those statements, I happened across this amazing piece at Fangraphs. Bravo to Sheryl for having the courage to write this piece and bravo to Fangraphs for running it. If you're gonna read one thing on this topic, this should maybe be it -->> https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-hum ... -decision/ Today, a website called Expanded Roster released a long piece where Russell's former wife Melisa Reidy recounts the entirety of their relationship. It's pretty awful and stunning stuff to read. [tweet:2kjx56a4]https://twitter.com/expandedroster/status/1075458227893137408[/tweet:2kjx56a4] It's a trip to be able to read the perspectives of the team, the abuser, the abused, not to mention the conflicted emotions of the fan in the excellent Fangraphs piece, which puts a focus on how signing these guys affects human beings, beyond the basic sports fan implications.

Edgy MD Dec 19 2018 07:20 PM Re: An the topic of Addison Russell

I like how she calls him "troubled," echoing one of Lunchy's great explications of sportswriting: "intense" = asshole white guy "fiery" = asshole Latino guy "troubled" = asshole black guy

Lefty Specialist Dec 20 2018 06:19 AM Re: An the topic of Addison Russell

Well, that escalated quickly. Didn't expect the turn that took.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 20 2018 09:34 AM Re: On the topic of Addison Russell

It's nuts. The twitter cycle makes it feel like a quick escalation, but Russell had been like that for years and we just didn't know about it. Makes me wonder how pervasive this is and we're all in the dark, or we think it's one-off bad behavior when we do hear about it.

Edgy MD Dec 20 2018 10:47 AM Re: On the topic of Addison Russell

I have this notion of the abuser in baseball. I don't know if it's accurate, but I tend to think the pampered closer profiles as most likely to lose his shit domestically. But after that, it's the big shot shortstop who can do marvelous things athletically, but can't sand the rough edges off his game, and is coming off a crappy season that has kind of undermined the notion that his game can catch up/keep up with his athletic skills. It's a notion that his self-image is built on. And self-images are fragile.

smg58 Dec 20 2018 12:47 PM Re: On the topic of Addison Russell

The hard question is what to do with somebody like Russell. If you think that a lifetime ban is too harsh, then when do you let him back and under what terms? And how do you build a consistent policy? And that's before you even get to what to do when the law does nothing. When Kareem Hunt (a football running back if you don't know) was accused of abuse, the hotel had video. The police didn't think it was worth their trouble and the NFL (at least according to them) was told no when they asked to look at it, but TMZ paid off somebody and the video went public. That's really not the best way to find out anything. And then, how do employers in general handle situations like these? Is it it different when the accused has a high public profile and the allegations are public knowledge? And should it be different?

A Boy Named Seo Dec 20 2018 03:54 PM Re: On the topic of Addison Russell

In fairness, I think Theo and the Cubs statement was pretty good and I'd want my team to be along those lines if they were to employ someone who is getting a second chance. I think my issues are that we now know that as a human being, Addison had a whole bunch of chances with his then-wife and didn't show any inclination to stop being an asshole. This is his first second chance as a ballplayer, so maybe that rattles around in his brain differently. Theo in his statement said he was in communications with his ex-wife (a good thing, IMO) but in her piece released yesterday, she doesn't believe Russell will change at all because she's heard all that shit from him before. I think the Cubs did well to address it from an org-wide standpoint (training and awareness for employees), and support and involvement in organizations that work in DV prevention. I think Sheryl Ring's perspective as someone who has been abused and doesn't want to be reminded of their own abuse when they see an asshole ballplayer is a tough one for the team. Sadly, if Russell wasn't a young, inexpensive, talented asset, his ass probably woulda been bounced already.

Lefty Specialist Dec 21 2018 08:00 AM Re: On the topic of Addison Russell

Words one never wants to hear: "TMZ on line one...."