I appreciate your response, though I respectfully disagree with you.
When the most positive spin Theo Epstein can provide during a press conference is "He doesn’t deserve to be met with an unconditionally warm welcome and with open arms" regarding Russell's return, it signals to me that Russell shouldn't be here. Having worked for several years directly with survivors of the form of the abuse Russell is the perpetrator of, cheering for him because this is a business decision and he is a talented, young ballplayer is a no-go for me. And the fact that he was a major contributor to a World Series championship doesn't mean anything to me. Similarly, I am eternally grateful that Aroldis Chapman did not record the last out for that iconic moment for that exact reason. His kids will have this story forever in their lives because of the decisions Russell made. It's an unfortunate reality of the constant news cycle we now live in, but Russell is at the core of the problem until he can prove otherwise to his ex-wife(s), partners, family, and children.
I firmly believe Russell should be a better person before he rejoins a big league roster. A few months of mandated therapy, an apology tour likely spearheaded by the Chicago Cubs public relations team, and a 40-game suspension (less than that for performance-enhancing drugs, mind you) does not change a person. Same goes for other sports (e.g., Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Ray Rice, etc...). Abusers who are not professional athletes face much different ramifications in the real world. Russell has a lifetime of change and growth ahead of him.
Perhaps my response is more of an affective one than a business-y one, but I agree with FollowTisdale in that handling the situation perfectly would be to see Russell as a free agent.
And I can imagine that if Addison Russell were a St. Louis Cardinal, some Russell defenders would be viewing the situation much differently.
In other news... [ W ] #22.