Bradley Won't Appeal Suspension

Sports Betting News - September 24th, 2009 - Written by John

As if he really had any choice, Milton Bradley accepted the punishment for last week's temper-tantrum. In a statement to the club, he informed the team and it's fans (and all their "negativity") that he would not appeal the suspension levied by the club and would sit out the rest of the season.

"I chose Chicago as a free agent because I wanted to be part of finally bringing a championship to the Cubs' fans," he wrote. "I expected to have a great season and I am deeply disappointed by my performance and the team's struggles."

He was asked to just go away last week after a newspaper article in the Arlington Daily Herald quoted Bradley as saying: "You understand why they haven't won for 100 years."

Cubs fans don't particularly like being reminded of that in general. But when Bradley essentially pointed the finger at them, it became a circus. The club worked out a resolution similar to the Knicks-Marbury deal, that would pay Bradley $400,000 to not play the final 15 games of the season.

Bradley signed a 3-year, $30 million contract in the off-season but struggled amidst boos and disdain in the stands. He only hit .257 with 12 homers and made one of the biggest blunders of the season when he caught a pop-up, which he thought was the third out of the inning, and turned around and launched the ball into the bleachers. Problem was, it was only the second out, and Minnesota's Nick Punto scored easily and fans fought over the souvenir.

His mother, Charlena Rector, has come to his aid since, telling reporters that Bradley was obviously distressed over personal issues. Specifically, she claimed, his son was the victim of racism in the classroom, where classmates called him derogatory names and sneered at him. She said Bradley would like to come back to the club next year.

"Milton eats, sleeps and drinks baseball. He loves it. That's all he wants to do," Rector told the Sun-times.

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