Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson was wrong to make a Jackie Robinson reference to African-American White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, New York manager Aaron Boone conceded Sunday, adding that he doesn’t believe his third baseman had any ‘malicious intent.’
A day after the comment called ‘racist’ by Chicago manager Tony La Russa — an assessment that Anderson agreed with — Major League Baseball continued to investigate the incident.
One of baseball’s most popular black players and an All-Star, Anderson hit a home to propel the White Sox to a doubleheader sweep at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. As he ran the bases, Anderson was seen hushing angry Yankees fans, many of whom had been chanting ‘Jackie’ at him during Sunday’s twin bill.
Anderson declined post-game interview requests.
Donaldson, who is white, also did not speak to reporters. Through a Yankees spokesman, Donaldson said he had not talked to MLB about the situation and didn’t talk speak to Anderson on Sunday.
‘I also understand Josh has been very forthcoming with the history of it and the context of it. So I don’t believe there was any malicious intent in that regard.’
‘But this is just my opinion — [that’s] somewhere he should not be going,’ he said.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa said he thinks Donaldson’s comment was ‘racist’
Donaldson said he twice called Anderson by ‘Jackie’ — as in Robinson, who famously broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947 — during the Yankees’ 7-5 win. The benches and bullpens emptied as tensions escalated.
‘He just made a, you know, disrespectful comment,’ Anderson said after the game. ‘Basically, it was trying to call me Jackie Robinson. Like, ”What’s up, Jackie?”’
Donaldson said he was trying to defuse the situation. The benches also emptied on May 13 after Anderson shoved Donaldson following a hard tag in Chicago.
Donaldson said he’s used the ‘Jackie’ reference in the past with Anderson, who had said he viewed himself as a potential modern-day Robinson in a 2019 interview with Sports Illustrated.
‘My meaning of that is not any term trying to be racist by any fact of the matter,’ Donaldson said Saturday.
‘Obviously, he deemed it disrespectful,’ he said. ‘And look, if he did, I apologize. That’s not what I was trying to do by any manner and that’s what happened.’
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