Author: jenwielgusjournalism

One thing about me: I’ve always been athletic. I played three sports in high school – stopping with basketball after sophomore year so I could focus on pitching and club volleyball in the winter – and walking on to the Northwestern University softball team for a Big Ten experience (yes, as a bit of a scrub) that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

In adulthood, I’m partial to the “sport of fitness,” and while I no longer consider myself a serious, competitive CrossFitter, I still belong to a CrossFit gym and do CrossFit-style workouts in my basement nearly every day I’m not working out over there.

My unofficial duty in the gym is to post the Quote of the Week on the board. OK, it’s a duty I more or less bestowed upon myself, but no one else seems into it, and I just love it. Say what you want about inspirational quotes and their triteness or lack of true value in terms of motivating people or effecting change, I love anything that makes me think. Well, maybe not ANYTHING. There are some things I actually would love to stop thinking about, but I digress.

This one spoke to me. I’ve never been a follower. I’ve always done my own thing, and I gravitate toward people like that. In this next phase of my life, where it looks like I’m going to have to hustle my ass off and create my own opportunities rather than just sitting back and doing what is required by a company, day after day, year after year…this resonates especially loudly.

It stinks that I’m listening to the Cubs giving a press conference about an alleged domestic abuser who’s in their employ. This isn’t the first time my favorite team has faced scrutiny because they’ve harbored a bad dude in their clubhouse.

I have been following this story closely since it broke, way back in 2017 when Addison Russell’s now-ex wife first brought to light the issues in their relationship. Today, I read Melisa Ready-Russell’s entire blog, from start to finish. I also followed the Aroldis Chapman domestic abuse story back in 2016.

(Link to Melisa’s blog post: https://lifewithmelis310373032.wordpress.com)

In NO WAY do I have Cubbie-blue blinders on, nor do I hold the behavior of their players against the franchise. As a lifelong sports fan & long-time sports reporter, I know this stuff is equal-opportunity. There are bad dudes everywhere, from high school sports to college sports to pro sports and everywhere in between. I’ve witnessed it firsthand, from casual misogyny to outright offensive behavior that’ll…put hair on your chest? Poor treatment of women is a societal problem. We know this. It’s only magnified in sports.

You idolize these professional athletes, or hold them to a higher standard, at your own risk. You don’t even realize how much negative shit is perpetrated by your heroes that never sees the light of day.

Let me pause to say, no one knows what really happened in the Russell relationship. I’m not here to demonize this particular guy, or convict him in the court of public opinion. I want to make a statement about women standing up for themselves, in general, and making changes in the way the world sees us. You don’t have to have been actually physically abused to feel deeply affected by this topic. Continue reading “Bravo, Melisa: Good WILL come from the Addison Russell saga” →

For the last few years, as a video journalist for the Bucks County Courier Times and Intelligencer – it’s so much easier to just say, “Game On” – I have been using my professional Facebook page to archive my video stories. Now that I’m a free agent, I eventually want to create my own website. My ultimate dream is to do what I did before, working for myself, and somehow make a living that way.

This is only the beginning.

Stay tuned for personal blog posts and occasional “Coffee Convo” profile pieces with interesting people in our community.

Thanks for sticking with me.