Yankees' Josh Donaldson suspended 1 game for making a 'disrespectful' comment by calling an opponent 'Jackie'

• The Yankees' Josh Donaldson was suspended 1 game for calling Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox "Jackie."
• Donaldson said the comment — deemed racist by Tony La Russa — was a reference to a 2019 interview where Anderson called himself the modern Jackie Robinson.

MLB on Monday gave New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson a one-game suspension for a "disrespectful" comment directed toward Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.

During a game Saturday, Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson called White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson "Jackie," an apparent reference to Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the majors.

"Regardless of Mr. Donaldson's intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment, particularly when viewed in the context of their prior interactions," Michael Hill, MLB's Senior Vice President for On-Field Operations, said in a statement.

According to the league's statement, Donaldson is appealing the suspension.

Donaldson made the comment to Anderson, who is Black, in the first inning of the game. Later, during the fifth inning, Donaldson and White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal came face-to-face, and the benches cleared to separate them.

After the game, Donaldson admitted to calling Anderson "Jackie," but said it was a reference to a 2019 interview in Sports Illustrated, in which Anderson referred to himself as a modern-day Robinson.

"I kind of feel like today's Jackie Robinson," Anderson told Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein in 2019, referring to a need to change baseball's culture.

Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, said he did not intend for the comment to be racist. He said he and Anderson used to joke about calling Anderson "Jackie" together.

"My meaning of that is not any term trying to be racist by any fact of the matter,'' Donaldson told reporters after the game. "Obviously, he deemed it disrespectful. And look, if he did, I apologize. That's not what I was trying to do by any manner, and that's what happened.''

Anderson, however, called the comment "disrespectful."

"I don't think it was called-for," Anderson told reporters. "It was unnecessary."

White Sox manager Tony La Russa had called the comment "racist" after Saturday's game.

Donaldson and Anderson also had a dust-up during a series earlier in May, when Anderson, who won the 2019 AL batting title, took issue with a physical tag at third base by Donaldson. The two had a heated exchange but were calmly separated by umpires and teammates.

On Sunday, White Sox closer Liam Hendriks called Donaldson's explanation for the "Jackie" comment "bullshit," referencing Anderson and Donaldson's lack of friendship.

"Usually you have inside jokes with people you get along with, not people that don't get along at all," Hendriks told reporters. "[Donaldson's] statement right there was bullshit."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was surprised to hear of the "Jackie" comment and said it shouldn't have been made, despite believing Donaldson didn't mean to offend Anderson.

"I was really taken aback," Boone said, adding: "I don't believe there was any malicious intent in that regard. Just in my opinion, it's somewhere he should not be going.''

During the second game of Sunday's double-header, Anderson was repeatedly booed by Yankees fans.

Anderson hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning and rounded the bases while shushing the crowd.

Anderson's interview referencing Jackie Robinson in 2019

Over his career, Anderson has used his platform to advocate for racial justice.

After the murder of George Floyd, Anderson posted on his Twitter account photos of himself standing next to graffiti created during the George Floyd protests. And Anderson was the only White Sox player to take a knee on opening day in 2020.

So when he referenced being "today's Jackie Robinson," in the 2019 Sports Illustrated story that was the backdrop he was speaking on.

During the interview Anderson stated: "I kind of feel like today's Jackie Robinson," he said. "That's huge to say. But it's cool, man, because he changed the game, and I feel like I'm getting to a point to where I need to change the game."

Anderson told Yahoo Sports in 2021 about his advocacy for racial justice: "I just be as open as I can and try to tell people what I'm feeling," Anderson said. "You can never turn away from the real. The realer that you be, I think that's the right way to be. So I just try to give people 100 percent me, try not to sugarcoat anything."

When Black players try to speak up, they often face criticism

In the past, players who have tried to take on a changemaker role have faced an onslaught of criticism.

When Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he faced death threats and racism from every sector of the spor, from coaches, fans, and fellow teammates, but the more he played and impressed, the critics turned into supporters. By season's end, Robinson became Rookie of Year.

Once he finished playing, Robinson's advocacy for racial equality didn't end. He was heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960s.

Since Robinson, the MLB has struggled to retain Black players in the sport. The highest percentage of Black players to play in the majors was 1981 when 19% of players were Black.

In 2016, when athletes across the National Football League began taking a knee in protest of racial injustice and police brutality, Adam Jones, a Black outfielder who played for the Orioles, said that the reason MLB players weren't participating is because "baseball is a white man's sport.''

"We already have two strikes against us,'' Jones told USA TODAY Sports in 2016, "so you might as well not kick yourself out of the game. In football, you can't kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don't need us. Baseball is a white man's sport.''

Only 8% of baseball players are Black. In comparison, 69% of players in the NFL are Black.

After his interview, Jones said he faced attacks from fans for speaking out. In 2017, a fan threw a bag of peanuts at him on the field at Fenway Park in Boston, and Jones said he was called the "N-word."

"It's unfortunate. The best thing about myself is that I continue to move on, and still play the game hard. Let people be who they are. Let them show their true colors," Jones told USA Today at the time.