Chris Sale continues tirade against White Sox over Drake LaRoche
Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale held nothing back when asked about the team’s handling of the Drake LaRoche situation Friday. The 26-year-old continued his verbal tirade on team president Kenny Williams, accusing Williams of lying to the club.
According to Sale, Williams kept changing his story regarding why the club opted to restrict the clubhouse access of Drake LaRoche. The 14-year-old LaRoche has been a big part of his dad’s career, traveling with him since Adam was a member of the Washington Nationals. The White Sox told LaRoche that he would have to limit his son’s clubhouse access this season, causing the elder LaRoche to retire. The team nearly boycotted Wednesday’s game as a show of support for LaRoche and his son.
Sale says the team was initially meant to believe other players complained to Williams about LaRoche. Then, the narrative changed to involve coaches. Once Williams finally met with the club, he apparently blamed owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
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Reinsdorf hasn’t been involved in any part of the controversy up until this point, but that’s about to change. The owner is set to meet with the players in the coming days to discuss the situation.
Sale did not mince any words during his rant against Williams, telling reporters “We got bold-faced lied to by someone we’re supposed to be able to trust.” He also made his opinion on the situation pretty clear.
As a show of support for his former teammate, Sale hung Adam LaRoche and Drake LaRoche jerseys at his locker.
As far as the players are concerned, LaRoche has made up his mind, and is set on retirement.
Even if LaRoche leaves, that’s not going to solve much. Sale admits the situation has now had a negative impact on the clubhouse. Prior to Tuesday’s events, the team was coming together. Now, Sale says, Williams has created a distraction.
That distraction is apparently big enough that other players are now afraid to bring their own family members into the locker room. Outfielder Adam Eaton planned to have his father visit the team clubhouse Friday, but opted against it after things escalated.
On top of all of this, it’s possible LaRoche will file a grievance with the Players Association over the handling of the situation. According to Eaton, the team’s current union representative, LaRoche had language in his contract allowing Drake to be around.
[Related: Prince Fielder and other baseball dads love having their sons in the clubhouse]
With opening day nearing, the organization will have to find a way to bury the hatchet before real games begin. While it’s hard to imagine things couldn’t get worse than this, no one thought this situation would ever escalate to this level.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
