Yankees’ Josh Donaldson issues public apology to White Sox’s Tim Anderson and Jackie Robinson’s family
In an apparently sincere apology, the Yankees’ third baseman maintained that he never intended any harm with his words.
Its been almost a week since things literally kicked off between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. It now seems that in that time the Yankees’ third baseman has done some thinking.
Yankees Josh Donaldson issues public apology for ‘Jackie’ joke
According to reports on Thursday, Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson released a public statement in which he apologized to both White Sox player Tim Anderson and the family of the late MLB legend Jackie Robinson. Donaldson was of course suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by the league earlier this week calling Anderson ‘Jackie’ during a game between their two teams last weekend. His “disrespectful” comment which he initially tried to claim was an inside joke between Anderson and himself, was in reference to the aforementioned Robinson who became a household name back in 1947, when he became the first African American player to play in MLB.
For his part Donaldson said that the exchange with Anderson was a “misunderstanding” before going on to say that “absolutely meant no disrespect.” The former AL MVP also went on to apologize to Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, and the rest of the Robinson family. You can see his full statement below:
“First and foremost, I have the utmost respect for what Tim Anderson brings to the game of baseball. I stated over the weekend that I apologized for offending Tim and that it was a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years. My view of that exchange hasn’t changed and I absolutely meant no disrespect. In the past, it had never been an issue and now that it is, we have a mutual understanding. I would also like to apologize to Mrs. Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson family for any distress this incident may have caused. Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard.”
Josh Donaldson was criticized on all sides
When both teams’ benches cleared last Saturday in response to a verbal altercation between Donaldson and White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal, it was clear that emotions were running high. Even more so because the reason Grandal took issue with Donaldson who was at bat in that moment, was because he was aware of the comment the Yankees player had made towards his teammate - Anderson - earlier in the game. Grandal would later have to be restrained as well as Anderson himself. This is to say that not many were happy with the incident. Indeed, even Donaldson’s teammate, Aaron Judge made it clear that he felt Donaldson was in the wrong. Then there was Yankees manager Aaron Boone who also weighed in saying Donaldson shouldn’t have gone there. In all it would appear that with nobody in support of his side, Donaldson was forced to rethink his stance and retract his statement. The question that remains is ‘was a lesson learned?’ when asked if he thought so, Tim Anderson simply said, “I hope so.”
Where did Josh Donaldson’s ‘Jackie’ joke come from?
If there is one interesting thing to note about the contentious scenario, it’s that Donaldson’s “Jackie” comment actually stemmed from a comment made by Anderson himself. When interviewed in the past by Sports Illustrated, Anderson said he felt like Robinson. There is of course a deeper meaning here which is to say that Anderson was making the point that with so few black Americans in the league today, he feels out on his own.
Now while there might be grounds here for a cynical joke, which is essentially what Donaldson tried to say, claiming it was an inside joke, it doesn’t quite cut it. Indeed, perhaps the best response for Donaldson’s justification are the words of Anderson’s teammate, White Sox closer Liam Hendriks who brought some logic to the situation. “...usually you have inside jokes with the people you get along with, not people that don’t get along at all.” Incidentally, Anderson has since disclosed that it was not the first time Donaldson called him “Jackie,” with that occasion coming back in 2019 to which Anderson responded by saying that the pair should not speak again.