Melisa Reidy-Russell, the ex-wife of Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, explained in an interview with ESPN why she did not speak to MLB investigators last summer after claiming Russell abused her physically and emotionally.

Reidy-Russell told ESPN she followed her lawyers' advice last year when they said she would suffer financially and thought she "wasn't prepared emotionally."

Her public comments were the first since last week's emotional blog post about the alleged abuse. In response to those allegations, the Cubs placed Russell on administrative leave to allow MLB to investigate whether he violated the league's abuse policy. Russell will be out the remainder of the regular season, and his status for the postseason is uncertain.

Russell has denied the allegations, and Reidy-Russell never reported the alleged abuse to police.

She said she will fully cooperate with the MLB investigation because "this is to help others."

"Last year, when MLB contacted me, I wasn't ready," Reidy-Russell told ESPN. "I didn't know what was the right thing to do. I didn't even believe in myself enough."

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Contributing: Tom Schad, Bob Nightengale