Josh Donaldson, New York Yankees. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Josh Donaldson actually admitted to saying something racist towards Tim Anderson.
In the aftermath of the New York Yankees‘ home game vs. the Chicago White Sox, Josh Donaldson admitted to saying something racist towards Tim Anderson.
Tensions were high at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon, culminating in a benches-clearing brawl. Though only those on the field knew what led to it, apparently, it was centered around something racially motivated Donaldson said to Anderson.
Yes, Donaldson admitted to calling Anderson “Jackie” on the field today.
While it used to be a joke between them, obviously, this racist remark did not land well this time.
Here is Donaldson on camera admitting to the racial slur in question.
And here is Anderson discussing the matter of what transpired from Saturday afternoon’s game.
What did Josh Donaldson say to Tim Anderson?
“Jackie” is referencing the late, great Jackie Robinson of Brooklyn Dodgers fame. Robinson broke the color barrier in the 1940s. He faced immense adversity in his heroic efforts to make the game of baseball available to everyone. While Anderson referred to himself as “Today’s Jackie Robinson”, it is a horrendous look by Donaldson to take lightly the legend who changed the game of baseball.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s comments happening around the same time as Donaldson’s only makes matters worse.
Ultimately, this is a sad day for baseball. So few black players take part in America’s pastime these days. While bench-clearing brawls happen all the time in baseball, how could we have possibly known this one was actually racially motivated? Not only do the Yankees have a few minority star players on their team, but they have to play these same White Sox in a double-header on Sunday.
MLB has a tire fire on its hands involving two of the biggest teams over in the American League.