CHICAGO _ The Cubs on Thursday denied a tweet and internet story that claimed the team threatened retribution to a media member for criticizing its handling of Addison Russell.
The allegation first surfaced in a tweet by Sheryl Ring, a writer for fangraphs.com, and picked up steam when it was repeated in an article on nbcsports.com.
The item in the "Hardball Talk" blog reported Ring allegedly had "spoken to a member of the media who alleged that the Cubs privately instructed that person to lay off Russell, allegedly threatening reprisal. The Cubs, meanwhile, are approving stories that paint Russell in a positive light, particularly in terms of redemption."
The story didn't get much traction in Chicago. Ring subsequently made her Twitter account private.
But the allegation resurfaced Tuesday in Seattle when Cubs President Theo Epstein brought it up to beat writers without being asked.
"However you guys want to cover the story," Epstein said. "If you want to write critical articles about Addison or the club's handling, you're more than welcome to. We believe in the freedom of the press. This is certainly an issue where we expect there to be strong opinions and people have the right to have those opinions and express them however they want.
"We support that. We would never try to stifle freedom of the press or that type of free expression. I saw that story out there. I'm not calling it into question other than to say the threat of reprisal to a media member about any topic, but especially one of this nature, is not acceptable. I'd be really surprised if that happened at the Cubs, and if it did I'd want to know who it was because they wouldn't work for the Cubs much longer. That's a fireable offense to try to threaten a media member because of unfavorable coverage, especially on a topic of this nature."
The Cubs continued to shoot down the story Thursday when vice president of communications Julian Green went on the team's flagship station, WSCR-AM 670, to deny what he called "explosive allegations" that were not "corroborated."
"I have raised this with the editors-in-chiefs at the papers in this town because it's not the first time this has happened," Green said on the "Mully & Haugh Show." "But it's the first time something egregious like this happened."
Green did not provide any examples of media members from either Chicago newspaper claiming retribution for something they had written about the team or the organization.
Russell's 40-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy ended this week and he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs have not said when Russell would return, but Epstein confirmed Tuesday it was a baseball decision to allow him to continue to rehab in the minors.
Russell's status has been a topic of debate since the Cubs tendered him a contract during his suspension, eventually signing him to a $3.4 million deal with $600,000 in incentives based on playing time, avoiding arbitration.
Epstein on Thursday called it a "non-story" that was fueled by internet reports from non-credible sources.
"Hopefully it's over," he said.
