A heated afternoon on the field continued off it afterward, with Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson taking offense to being called "Jackie" by the New York Yankees' Josh Donaldson, a comment deemed "racist" by manager Tony La Russa.
Donaldson admitted after the game to calling Anderson "Jackie" — a nod to Jackie Robinson — in the first inning. He apologized, saying he meant no disrespect. However, Anderson, who is Black, said after the game that he took offense to the comment.
"He just made a disrespectful comment," Anderson said. "Basically he was trying to call me Jackie Robinson. '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."
Donaldson, who is white, said the "Jackie" comment was in reference to a 2019 interview with Sports Illustrated in which Anderson described himself as feeling like "today's Jackie Robinson" in how he's "getting to a point where I need to change the game."
Donaldson on Saturday said it was a