MESA, Ariz. — For a moment, it looked like Theo Epstein was simply going to sidestep the Joe Ricketts topic at the Cubs' initial spring training press conference Tuesday afternoon.
When the issue of the racist and controversial emails from the patriarch of the Ricketts family was broached, Epstein started by saying Tom Ricketts, Joe's son and the chairman of the Cubs, would meet with the team on the first full day of spring camp and address the players then.
A lot of team presidents may have decided to leave the discussion at that. After all, it's a very sensitive topic and is only related to baseball because Joe Ricketts' money purchased the Cubs.