Tom Ricketts discusses off-the-field issues — mlb.com

MESA, Ariz. -- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts addressed the team on Monday morning as he does every spring, but this year, he needed to discuss more than just the baseball season ahead. Off-the-field issues have dominated the focus recently for Chicago, creating distractions from the upbeat feelings typically associated with the start of camp. Ricketts wanted to talk to the players, coaches and staff about the recently leaked e-mails containing racist and Islamophobic rhetoric from his father, Joe Ricketts, whose fortune paved the way to purchase the Cubs a decade ago. Then, the team's chairman met with reporters for more than a half-hour, touching on Addison Russell's 40-game suspension, the recent partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group for the launch of next year and the payroll situation, among many other topics.

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