Tim Anderson spoke Tuesday about his relationship with Josh Donaldson and said he warned New York Yankees third baseman to call him “Jackie” in 2019.
Donaldson was suspended for a match after admitting to calling Anderson “Jackie”, as in a reference to Jackie Robinson. Donaldson said he has called Anderson “Jackie” repeatedly since 2019 and insisted he was just “joking” based on a comparison Anderson made about himself.
This, however, is not how Anderson sees it.
“I told him we should never talk again,” Anderson said Tuesday about his 2019 conversation about the nickname, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “I will not talk to you, you will not talk to me, if that is how you refer to me. I knew exactly what I was doing. “
Banks cleaned up after ‘Jackie’ comment
The benches were cleaned up during the fifth inning of Saturday’s game between the Yankees and the White Sox, although it was not initially clear why. White Sox coach Tony La Russa said after the game that Donaldson had made a “racist comment” directed at Anderson, which both Anderson and Donaldson revealed was the “Jackie” comment.
“He made a disrespectful comment,” Anderson said after the game. “He was basically trying to call me Jackie Robinson, like, ‘What’s wrong with you, Jackie?’ I don’t play like that. I don’t really play at all. I wasn’t really going to bother anyone today. But he made the comment, and it was disrespectful. I don’t think it was necessary. “
Donaldson later defended himself and said he was joking while referring to an interview Anderson did in 2019 with Sports illustrated, where Anderson was compared to Jackie Robinson. He said the two also joked in 2019.
“I don’t know what has changed, and I’ve told him in years past,” Donaldson said after the game. “Not just joking because his name was Jackie Robinson. If anything happened. He changed that, my meaning of that – he has no term trying to be racist about any fact of the matter. It was just from an interview of what he said to himself “.
The story goes on
If he was kidding, though, Anderson obviously didn’t find it funny, especially considering he said he warned Donaldson about using the term in 2019.
Donaldson was suspended by a party for commenting on the league for his “bad judgment”. Donaldson is appealing the sentence.
Tim Anderson said he warned Josh Donaldson that he would call her “Jackie” in 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune / Getty Images)