Addison Russell Releases Statement On Domestic Violence Claim

Addison Russell released a statement addressing the domestic violence allegation made against him. On Wednesday night, Melisa Russell posted and since deleted an Instagram post outing her husband as a cheater. A close friend of Melisa then commented that Addison had mentally and physically abused Melisa. The Cubs reached out to MLB on Thursday and the league is looking into the allegation.

Here is Russell’s statement.

Russell statement: "Any allegation I have abused my wife is false and hurtful.For the well-being of my family, I’ll have no further comment.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) June 8, 2017

Russell got married in June 2016.

There have been several rumors and reports that Russell’s infidelity has been well known by the team for at least a few weeks. However, the domestic violence claim is obviously a much more serious matter.

Again, at this point there aren’t many details available. The domestic violence allegation was made by a friend on a social media post, which has been deleted. No charges have been made and Melisa Russell has not made any allegations either.

Kris Bryant answered questions about Russell during an interview on 670 The Score on Thursday.

As far as Russell and the Cubs, the shortstop has struggled so far in 2017, and has recently been demoted by manager Joe Maddon, getting relegated to a rotation at shortstop, sharing starting time with Javier Baez.

Russell is not in the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.