Controversy brewing after Cubs invite Addison Russell to attend Cubs Convention

Next weekend, die-hard Chicago Cubs fans will flock to the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk for the 2026 Cubs Convention. This year's festivities are headlined by the 10-year reunion of the 2016 World Series champion team, which will add another layer to an already emotional gathering, especially since it's the first Cubs Con since Ryne Sandberg's passing last summer.

We won't see still-active players like Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras or Kyle Schwarber, who played an integral role on that fateful team, but Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward are all making their return to the event - along with former Cubs manager Joe Maddon.

Addison Russell set to return to Cubs Convention next weekend

The full schedule isn't released just yet but we should get that in the coming days. It's worth nothing: there have been some discrepancies over the exact list of attendees (what's on the Cubs Convention landing page and posted to Cubs social accounts differs from what was emailed to fans who are attending). But in that email, fans were very surprised to see former infielder Addison Russell among those expected to attend.

Given his 40-game suspension for violating the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse policy in Sept. 2018 and all the troubling details that were made public, it seems few fans expected to see him next weekend - and many are outright angry over his inclusion.

During Friday night's Opening Ceremonies, folks will certainly be watching to see what kind of reception Russell gets from those in attendance. Frankly, it's unfortunate that this controversy (of the Cubs' own making, mind you) - has the potential to overshadow what otherwise would be a night spent excited about the future and reminiscing over the best year any of us have experienced as a Cubs fan.