(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Major League Baseball last week announced it was suspending New York Yankees’ third baseman Josh Donaldson for one game after he referred to Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson as “Jackie” during a game last weekend.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated back in 2019, Tim Anderson described himself as “today’s Jackie Robinson.” So Donaldson called him Jackie.
That’s it. That’s the story.
But for that, Tim Anderson, “today’s Jackie Robinson,” took offense, believing that Donaldson’s comment was racially motivated. So too did the rest of the White Sox team whose ire was so intense that, later in the game, it nearly led to a full-on brawl on the field.
Anderson told reporters after the game that Donaldson calling him “Jackie” was a “disrespectful comment.”
White Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters it was a “racist comment.”
So, if you’re following along, Tim Anderson boasts that he is “today’s Jackie Robinson;” Josh Donaldson calls him “Jackie;” and Donaldson is called a racist.
Major League Baseball agreed with this boneheaded view. Last Monday, the league issued a one-game suspension for Donaldson and fined him an undisclosed amount for hurting Tim Anderson’s tender feelings.
In a statement announcing Donaldson’s 1-game suspension, MLB described his comment as “disrespectful and in poor judgment.” The league determined that Donaldson calling Anderson “Jackie” was the “contributing factor” in the bench-clearing brawl and therefore “warrants discipline.”
For his part, Donaldson didn’t deny calling Anderson “Jackie” for what he said in the Sports Illustrated interview. He apologized if Anderson thought it was disrespectful, but argued that it wasn’t in any way intended as a racist comment.
Donaldson’s suspension was supposed to keep him out of Monday’s game. But it was put on hold while Donaldson appealed the decision.
