Russell accused of physical mistreatment by ex-wife, won't play Friday

Melisa Reidy, the ex-wife of Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, accused the ballplayer of physically mistreating her in a blog post titled "you no longer have a secret, you have a story" that was originally linked to from her Instagram bio.

While Reidy did not provide specific details, she said it wasn't a one-time occurrence:

The first time I was physically mistreated by my spouse, I was in shock. I couldn’t wrap my head around what just happened…Why did he get so angry? What did I do for him to want to put his hands on me? Of course I forgave him & assumed it would never happen again.

I was deeply hurt that he could even be capable of this behavior towards me, I couldn’t understand how the man I was so in love with, the FATHER of my child, the man I married just a few months ago could show such aggression towards me… I simply could not wrap my head around it, it tore me apart. As much as I tried to pretend it never happened, I noticed myself avoiding making him angry in anyway in fear of it happening again. I saw a darkness in him I’ve never seen or experienced in him or anyone else. Slowly but surely I realized the man I grew to love so much was becoming more and more of a stranger to me everyday that went by.

Major League Baseball first began investigating Russell in 2017 after an Instagram post from a friend of Reidy accused him of cheating on her and abusing her mentally and physically. Reidy declined to participate in the investigation at the time, and Russell was never punished by the league. Russell denied the accusations, calling them "false and hurtful."

The couple's marriage officially ended in a Florida court on Aug. 30, according to Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune, after Reidy filed for divorce in June 2017.

Russell was not in the Cubs' lineup Friday and is not expected to report to the ballpark to play against the White Sox, reports The Athletic's Patrick Mooney.