Chicago White Sox players threatened to boycott Wednesday’s Cactus League game in response to the team cracking down on Adam LaRoche regularly bringing son Drake into the clubhouse.
ESPN reports that manager Robin Ventura finally convinced his team to play ball. The Milwaukee Brewers prevailed 5-2 after cooler heads prevailed.
“I don’t think he should be here 100 percent of the time — and he has been here 100 percent, every day, in the clubhouse,” White Sox President Ken Williams explained to Fox Sports. “I said that I don’t even think he should be here 50 percent of the time. Figure it out, somewhere in between.”
LaRoche retired rather than occasionally go to work without his son. In doing so, he walks away from a $13 million salary for this season.
Players regard the clubhouse as their domain. With the young man at the center of the controversy a well-liked figure among White Sox players, and the athletes regarding baseball as a game passed down by fathers, the team’s decision did not go over well. The players close to boycotting believe they should determine whether the 14-year-old stays or goes.