Adam LaRoche Aims Ire Squarely at Kenny Williams in Lengthy Statement

Adam LaRoche has finally spoken out about the controversy concerning his retirement from baseball over the Chicago White Sox not allowing his son in the clubhouse as often as in the past. LaRoche took to his Twitter account to explain his decision.

In what was a lengthy statement, LaRoche explained that before signing with the White Sox he reached an agreement with the club about his son, Drake, spending time in the clubhouse. LaRoche pointed out that over the past five years, his son was allowed to be in the clubhouse constantly.

"Prior to signing with the White Sox, my first question to the club concerned my son’s ability to be a part of the team. After some due diligence on the club’s part, we reached an agreement. The 2015 season presented no problems as far as Drake was concerned. (My bat and our record are another story!)"

LaRoche then discusses how something changed this year when White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams approached him and asked him to “scale back” the amount of time Drake was in the clubhouse. LaRoche claims he believed it was a choice between his team or his family, and he obviously opted for his family.

Here’s the deal: I completely understand why LaRoche wants to have his son around. He wants to spend time with his family and not let his profession get in the way of having a deep, meaningful relationship with his son. It makes sense and is something most fathers would likely fight for. But I also understand where Williams is coming from. If the team was winning championships, this wouldn’t be an issue. But the White Sox went 76-86 last year and Williams is in charge. If they fail again this season he could be fired as a result. He wants the clubhouse to seem like a professional environment, not an after-school program.

Unfortunately for LaRoche and the White Sox, an agreement couldn’t be worked out and he has chosen to walk away from the game, upsetting many of his teammates in the process, who have given him staunch public support; they considered boycotting team events over the issue, while ace Chris Sale is taking it really hard.

With the players union now involved on LaRoche’s behalf, the next few weeks could get ugly for Williams, depending on the precise wording in the player’s contract. If the White Sox don’t have a dramatic turnaround from last season, his job security could be tenuous.