Over last week’s blazing hot weekend in New York, things got heated between the hometown Yankees’ third baseman, Josh Donaldson and the Chicago White Sox’ All-Star shortstop, Tim Anderson:
Benches cleared after New York’s Josh Donaldson called Chicago’s Tim Anderson “Jackie” Robinson during Saturday’s Yankees-White Sox game.
While the comment that sparked the incident took place early in the game, tensions boiled over in the fifth inning when White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal confronted Donaldson when he stepped to the plate for an at-bat. Grandal had words for Donaldson before Donaldson had a chance to take his stance in the batter’s box.
As reported by The New York Times :
Shortly after the Yankees beat Chicago at Yankee Stadium, 7-5, on Saturday, Donaldson, who is white, admitted to calling Anderson, who is Black, “Jackie” in the first inning. Anderson said it happened twice in the game. Anderson deemed the reference to Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, “disrespectful” before agreeing with his manager that the remark was racist.
“Basically, he was trying to call me Jackie Robinson,” Anderson said. “He was like, ‘Hey, what’s up Jackie?’ I don’t play like that. I don’t really play at all. I wasn’t really going to bother nobody today, but he made the comment, and you know, it was disrespectful and I don’t think it was called for. It was unnecessary.”
In the days that followed the incident, the big water cooler and social media conversation was about whether Donaldson’s comments were racist.
Many sports fans argued that since Tim Anderson, who is MLB’s most outspoken Black player about issues of race and Black Lives Matter, had once referred to himself as a modern day Jackie Robinson in an interview, he opened the door to being “trolled” about it, since “he is no Jackie Robinson.”
MLB has since suspended Josh Donaldson for one game, calling the comments “disrespectful.” Donaldson has appealed. (In a karmic turn of events that may indicate where the higher powers stand on the debate, Donaldson has been out since this game with injuries, first with COVID-19 and then with right shoulder inflammation.)
Immediately after the incident, Local beat writer, Bob Klapisch penned an article entitled “Yankees’ Josh Donaldson wasn’t being racist toward Tim Anderson, but he’s no angel,” which led off with this statement:
“I don’t believe Donaldson had a racist motive for calling Anderson “Jackie” on Saturday. It was a taunt to get under [his] skin.”
By now, we should at the very least understand the following points:
1. What Bob “believes” doesn’t matter. You can never know what is happening inside a person’s head. Only what they say and do. We can only judge people for their actions and their choices and their words. How many times have we heard so and so doesn’t have a racist or anti-Semitic bone in their body, when people’s words and actions show otherwise.
2. It can – and in my opinion (but more importantly, in Tim Anderson’s opinion) was – both a taunt to get under Tim Anderson’s skin and racist. Both can be true. Why does Bob presume it must be one or the other?
It is also extremely interesting that one of the only outspoken Black players in MLB (Tim Anderson) has now been involved in multiple incidents involving racism.
♦◊♦
As to Donaldson’s claim that this was just “friendly banter” or that he was “just joking,” as we’ve said over and over again in this space, nobody is ever “just joking:”
“Humor is a social act that performs a social function (always). . . . A racist joke sends a message to the in-group that racism is acceptable. (If you don’t find it acceptable, you’re in the out-group.).”
In addition, as Chicago White Sox closer, Liam Hendricks explained:
“Usually you have inside jokes with people you get along with, not people who don’t get along at all. So that statement right there was complete bulls— . . . I don’t understand how [Donaldson] ever thought of it like that. It’s just straight delusional.”
As Yankees superstar and clubhouse leader, Aaron Judge, said: “Joke or not, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do there.” Yankee Manager, Aaron Boone, was even more direct, a rare thing for MLB Manager’s to be when talking about their own: “When I first heard the name Jackie, I was really taken aback. Frankly, I was upset about it myself.”
♦◊♦
Another troubling thing that this incident again put front and center was the “fanatical” and tribal nature of sports fans.
I’m a Yankee fan, but I feel no allegiance to Josh Donaldson and no need to go to bat for “my guy.” I expressed that view on Twitter:
Hey Yankee Fans:
You can be a Yankee fan and call out Josh Donaldson for his racist taunt of Tim Anderson. No need to twist yourself into a pretzel defending him.
No one is going to take your fan card away.
Also, remember when you hated Donaldson b/c he was mean to Cole?
— Michael Kasdan (@michaelkasdan) May 22, 2022
Fascinatingly, the above Tweet drew the ire of some Yankee fans on Twitter.
What Josh Donaldson said was insulting and condescending. He should feel that way. But I don’t see why you should feel that way for me expressing my view that what he said was racist and being upset with what I see are a lot of Yankee fans who would rather stick with their guy. https://t.co/XNHFspQgu0
— Michael Kasdan (@michaelkasdan) May 22, 2022
In circumstances like these, it’s not about the way the abuser or aggressor feels or about the way those who defend him feel. It’s about how Tim Anderson feels.
Last night, the Associated Press reported that “Josh Donaldson was hurt when Yankees teammates didn’t back him after he made a remark to White Sox star Tim Anderson about Jackie Robinson that Chicago manager Tony La Russa called racist.”
I don’t often agree with Tony La Russa, but your Yankee teammates didn’t back you up, because what you said *was* racist.
I get it. Nobody likes being called “racist,” and the defensiveness is – on some level – a natural human first reaction. But also, some would call it “white fragility.” And they would, in my opinion, be right.
So if you don’t like being called “racist,” maybe just maybe the better strategy to do after you say something racist (or even better- before) is to examine ones words and actions, apologize, and do better.
Because Josh Donaldson, you’re far from the victim here.
—
Photo Credit: Pixabay