Josh Donaldson Suspended for Making Racist Comment

Status
Not open for further replies.

BrazilianSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2006
3,751
Brasil

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
I will write an extensive answer about this as I now know way more than I am interested in about the situation (and at least some of what led up to it, the Donaldson/Giolito back and forth in 2021 for starters), but it will have to wait until later because there's a lot going on tonight.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
So if I have the whole story, Anderson referred to himself as Jackie a couple of years ago. Donaldson called Anderson Jackie the other day. Is that racist? It's entirely possible that I'm ignorant here and, if so, I'd like to educated about it. But I didn't think calling someone Jackie is considered to be racist. It might be immature and stupid, but racist? When I saw the headlines and this thread I assumed he called him the N word or something to warrant a suspension.
 

Looch

New Member
Jul 15, 2021
721
So if I have the whole story, Anderson referred to himself as Jackie a couple of years ago. Donaldson called Anderson Jackie the other day. Is that racist? It's entirely possible that I'm ignorant here and, if so, I'd like to educated about it. But I didn't think calling someone Jackie is considered to be racist. It might be immature and stupid, but racist? When I saw the headlines and this thread I assumed he called him the N word or something to warrant a suspension.
You don’t have anything close to the whole story. There are multiple places on line you could read up and come back with a more informed opinion, but no one else should have to do that work for you.
 

JCizzle

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 11, 2006
20,530
So if I have the whole story, Anderson referred to himself as Jackie a couple of years ago. Donaldson called Anderson Jackie the other day. Is that racist? It's entirely possible that I'm ignorant here and, if so, I'd like to educated about it. But I didn't think calling someone Jackie is considered to be racist. It might be immature and stupid, but racist? When I saw the headlines and this thread I assumed he called him the N word or something to warrant a suspension.
I don't necessarily think there's a racist vs. non-racist split where it's either 100% racist or not. Donaldson clearly knew what he was doing with the reference to try and needle Anderson. In my opinion, it certainly wasn't an appropriate way to trash talk.
 

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,049
Alamogordo
Credit to Aaron Judge (from the article on MLB.com):

"It's a tough one," said Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, reacting to Donaldson's suspension. "Joke or not, I just don't think it's the right thing to do there -- especially given the history of the series in Chicago, kind of a little bit of beef between Anderson and J.D. Anderson's one of the best shortstops in the game and he's a big part of MLB, what's going on here and how we can grow the game. J.D. made a mistake, owned up to it and now we've got to move on."
Like I said in the MLB game thread, I think a lot of players may have been able to get away with this one, but after their previous altercation, and with Donaldson's history, he simply doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from me here.
 

Looch

New Member
Jul 15, 2021
721
I don't necessarily think there's a racist vs. non-racist split where it's either 100% racist or not. Donaldson clearly knew what he was doing with the reference to try and needle Anderson. In my opinion, it certainly wasn't an appropriate way to trash talk.
Plus he did the latest round of trash talking after trying to push Anderson off the bag at third a couple of weeks ago In a way that was blatantly Bush League and provocative. Then acting innocent again after the fact in the same kind of way.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
You don’t have anything close to the whole story. There are multiple places on line you could read up and come back with a more informed opinion, but no one else should have to do that work for you.
I do not tolerate belligerent lurkers in the Yankee forum even though I agree with every word in your second post, so calm down.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Ugh I lost my post but yes, as Looch said, this started last year with a back and forth with Donaldson/Giolito and escalated quite a bit with a very cheap play on Anderson at 3B with Anderson diving back in and Donaldson body blocking him off the base last weekend that could have easily hurt him, and then Donaldson kept pushing it in the Saturday game. I would say stupid more than racist but my opinion on that doesn't really matter and it was at the least deeply deeply stupid.

The 'Jackie' comment stemmed from a 2019 interview where Tim Anderson had become the temporary poster boy for celebrating big HRs (yes, please) and had been taking a lot of flak for that, and he called himself the Jackie Robinson of bat flipping (paraphrased, quote below), which while I love Tim Anderson and he can play SS for my team anytime, seems pretty dumb. So in 2019, Donaldson, possibly along with other players, evidently teased Anderson a bit about this quote and took Anderson's not screaming back at him as the beginning of an 'inside joke' and went back to that well multiple times on the basepaths on Saturday, which was not a good move against a player and a team already quite pissed off with him.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Here is the 2019 article:

"But he sees another barrier, one he’s intent on toppling: the “have-fun barrier.”

“I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson,” he says. “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.”"

https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/04/30/tim-anderson-white-sox-speaks-out
 

Doc Zero

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2007
12,435
Even if you give Donaldson the benefit of the doubt here, the instinct to say what he said is still not a great one (and frankly, that’s putting it kind of lightly).

The sooner we divorce our concept of “racist” from this picture we all have stuck in our brains, the better. And I’m including myself here.

Our concept of “racist”—the one that’s firmly lodged in our brain after inheriting centuries of imperialist/colonialist culture—is pretty much just: “person angrily says a slur.”

It is not always just that. It’s not a foul ball that lands outside the chalk and leaves a divot for everyone to point at.

You can’t separate race from the story of Jackie Robinson, and you can’t separate race from Josh Donaldson’s impulse to rile up a Black competitor by referring to him as “Jackie.”

Does it matter that Dolandson was referencing some interview from three years ago where Anderson referred to himself as Jackie Robinson? I... guess? Maybe like, a little bit? But if you’re choosing to look at it this way you’re already missing the point. Donaldson could be telling the truth about his intent. It really doesn’t make what he said less shitty.

I hope Josh Donaldson spends his day off thinking about why one of the tools in his competitive shit-talking toolbox (and one of the first ones he reached for this time) is to mock his Black opponent for uh... not being as good as Jackie Robinson.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,271
Ugh I lost my post but yes, as Looch said, this started last year with a back and forth with Donaldson/Giolito and escalated quite a bit with a very cheap play on Anderson at 3B with Anderson diving back in and Donaldson body blocking him off the base last weekend that could have easily hurt him, and then Donaldson kept pushing it in the Saturday game. I would say stupid more than racist but my opinion on that doesn't really matter and it was at the least deeply deeply stupid.

The 'Jackie' comment stemmed from a 2019 interview where Tim Anderson had become the temporary poster boy for celebrating big HRs (yes, please) and had been taking a lot of flak for that, and he called himself the Jackie Robinson of bat flipping (paraphrased, quote below), which while I love Tim Anderson and he can play SS for my team anytime, seems pretty dumb. So in 2019, Donaldson, possibly along with other players, evidently teased Anderson a bit about this quote and took Anderson's not screaming back at him as the beginning of an 'inside joke' and went back to that well multiple times on the basepaths on Saturday, which was not a good move against a player and a team already quite pissed off with him.
Agree 100% with all of this.

I just also want to add that I don’t think Donaldson did himself any favors with anyone by constantly doing this sort of “who? Me?” Routine where he acts completely oblivious as to why anyone would be pissed off at him (when that was pretty obviously his intention the entire time)
 

Murderer's Crow

Dragon Wangler 216
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
23,473
Garden City
I don't think Donaldson did a "who me?" He basically immediately in the post-game explained his whole thought process on the joke but then followed up with an apology that was a little more like "if you were offended, I'm sorry." Rather than saying "in hindsight, it was a stupid joke and regardless of my intent, I could see how messed up it was, I'm really sorry about that." He's a dumbass and should just take the 1 game and move on. The MLB giving 1 game instead of 10 is basically saying "we don't think you're racist but we gotta do something about your comment."

I've only seen JD play for a couple of months but the immediate impression I got is that his main priority is getting under the skin of other players. He's not getting on first and asking how the kids are. He's getting on first and telling you you look like you gained a few lbs.
 

BringBackMo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,315
Credit to Aaron Judge (from the article on MLB.com
Judge’s quote didn’t exactly rip Donaldson, but I give him a lot of credit for what he said. Baseball is such a conservative culture that just being willing to talk about what happened, and tipping his cap to Anderson’s spirit and position at the vanguard of change in the game, speaks volumes. I LOVE to root against Judge on the field, but he’s an impressive guy.
You can’t separate race from the story of Jackie Robinson, and you can’t separate race from Josh Donaldson’s impulse to rile up a Black competitor by referring to him as “Jackie.”
This entire post was terrific. Very sharp and very nuanced. Just to add to it a bit: The question I have for anyone wondering how Donaldson’s comment could be considered racist is, Why, of all the things in the world that Donaldson could have said to Anderson as they continued their back and forth, did he choose a single word from an interview Anderson gave three years ago? Why did he choose to call him “Jackie” instead of, say, asshole or showboat? Anderson has given hundreds of interviews and he has made plenty of headline-grabbing comments, so why did Donaldson choose to home in on the name of the player who broke baseball’s color barrier? Just as despicable, to me, is Donaldson then characterizing it as an inside joke, something Anderson doesn’t just condone but apparently thinks is funny.
 

RetractableRoof

tolerates intolerance
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2003
3,836
Quincy, MA
I have no sense of Donaldsons character - and so have no opinion on that.

I acknowledge that even being close to a racism line is a stupid place for any player to venture. Further, It is clear that Anderson was offended and took issue with it, so I'm not ignoring that. Given that, are we sure this was intentional racism by Donaldson?

Players routinely mock other players to get under their skin, or just as trash talk. Copying their celebratory dances, their bow and arrow gestures, any place they can find to poke at. In that context, if Grant Williams were a ball player and his quest to be called Batman were known, would it be much different in these moments if Donaldson had said "OK, Batman" while poking at him? If someone had said his desire was to be the next Alex Rodriguez, would he be out of bounds saying "OK, ARod" in those moments? Or Griffey Jr, and "OK, Junior". Do we think someone didn't mock Pedroia with an "OK, laser show" or any other self appointed nickname/title? I'm not saying he deserves any benefit of the doubt, were it a different player - would it matter?

Is this really out of bounds, or is it just a stupid act/taunt by what some of you have described as a provoking player?

This entire post was terrific. Very sharp and very nuanced. Just to add to it a bit: The question I have for anyone wondering how Donaldson’s comment could be considered racist is, Why, of all the things in the world that Donaldson could have said to Anderson as they continued their back and forth, did he choose a single word from an interview Anderson gave three years ago? Why did he choose to call him “Jackie” instead of, say, asshole or showboat? Anderson has given hundreds of interviews and he has made plenty of headline-grabbing comments, so why did Donaldson choose to home in on the name of the player who broke baseball’s color barrier? Just as despicable, to me, is Donaldson then characterizing it as an inside joke, something Anderson doesn’t just condone but apparently thinks is funny.
And this post is what I was seeking. Are there other nuances to this discussion?
 

mikeford

woolwich!
SoSH Member
Aug 6, 2006
29,517
St John's, NL
I assume that there is more to this story.
Ugh I lost my post but yes, as Looch said, this started last year with a back and forth with Donaldson/Giolito and escalated quite a bit with a very cheap play on Anderson at 3B with Anderson diving back in and Donaldson body blocking him off the base last weekend that could have easily hurt him, and then Donaldson kept pushing it in the Saturday game. I would say stupid more than racist but my opinion on that doesn't really matter and it was at the least deeply deeply stupid.

The 'Jackie' comment stemmed from a 2019 interview where Tim Anderson had become the temporary poster boy for celebrating big HRs (yes, please) and had been taking a lot of flak for that, and he called himself the Jackie Robinson of bat flipping (paraphrased, quote below), which while I love Tim Anderson and he can play SS for my team anytime, seems pretty dumb. So in 2019, Donaldson, possibly along with other players, evidently teased Anderson a bit about this quote and took Anderson's not screaming back at him as the beginning of an 'inside joke' and went back to that well multiple times on the basepaths on Saturday, which was not a good move against a player and a team already quite pissed off with him.
To me, you are also missing the full context. Tim Anderson made that 2019 comment after having been suspended for "conduct following benches clearing" after having been intentionally drilled following a homerun/bat flip.

THATS what made him "like Jackie Robinson" in his eyes, IE I'm being made out to be the bad guy when I didn't do anything other than get hit by a damn baseball on purpose.

Here is the incident in question: View: https://twitter.com/Jomboy_/status/1118624980848267265
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Fair point, I didn’t remember that, but still I think it implicitly minimizes what Robinson dealt with for his entire career and was a poor choice of words by Anderson, not that any of that makes Donaldson less stupid for trying to tease him about it multiple times.
 

burstnbloom

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
2,761
I don’t think the context is all that important. A conscientious person doesn’t call a black player “Jackie” under any circumstances. To me, it doesn’t really matter that there’s history because even if there was enough context to explain away the behavior, Donaldson still said it in a moment of tension and meant it to piss off Tim Anderson. How can you call a black player “Jackie” in a heated moment and claim its innocent? It’s not.
 

mikeford

woolwich!
SoSH Member
Aug 6, 2006
29,517
St John's, NL
I don’t think the context is all that important. A conscientious person doesn’t call a black player “Jackie” under any circumstances. To me, it doesn’t really matter that there’s history because even if there was enough context to explain away the behavior, Donaldson still said it in a moment of tension and meant it to piss off Tim Anderson. How can you call a black player “Jackie” in a heated moment and claim its innocent? It’s not.
Yeah completely, I just wanted to kinda put the entire story in the frame.
 

pk1627

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 24, 2003
2,514
Boston
Good discussion here. Frankly, I don’t know if this crosses a racist line, but it does cross a bullying line. (It upset TA. That’s for sure.). I’d be interested in the opinion of the posters of different races which is a problem with a message board.

I hope Donaldson tamps it down. He strikes me as a competitive player who gets passed from team to team.
 

teddywingman

Looks like Zach Galifianakis
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2009
11,168
a basement on the hill
How did Anderson get ejected in that dust-up with the Royals? Seems absurd unless he said something out of line when he reached first.

Donaldson is definitely a jerk. That's all I really know about this.
 

Shaky Walton

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 20, 2019
717
I'm an opportunist. I hope Donaldson continues to make mistakes that lead teammates and his manager to comment about him or what he does or says in ways that are not entirely flattering, and this has a negative affect on the Yankees overall. The more they are all in the middle of off the field BS and distractions, the better.

Donaldson strikes me as a docuhe, and not in the Danny Ainge/Brad Marchand "you hate him on the opposing team, love him if he is on your team" kind of way.

I don't really think his comment here was intended to be racist. But I obviously don't know what was in his head and if it was just sort of clumsy and ill conceived. And I am not looking for racist comments to be the basis of what I mentioned in my first paragraph. In short, continue being you, JD.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
You don’t have anything close to the whole story. There are multiple places on line you could read up and come back with a more informed opinion, but no one else should have to do that work for you.
I read two articles and that was the extent of the reporting that I read. Since there are people here who follow the Yankees closely I was curious to get their perspective. As Jon said, there's no need to be a jerk about it. And my main question was whether the name he called them had a meaning beyond the obvious that is more offensive than it seems since I wasn't aware of it.
 

Mr. Stinky Esq.

No more Ramon
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2006
2,421
I see a bunch of mentions of intent and just want to note that racism doesn't require intent. The racism is in the impact. I think intent is relevant to the degree of culpability to an extent but not to the question of racist or not.

My take (and I think there are a wide range of fair takes) is that:
(1) Donaldson is a [insert pejorative];
(2) What he said to Anderson was racist; and
(3) He probably did not intend to be overtly racist.

It's still bad and his apology wouldn't do it for me if I were Tim Anderson but I think there's still room for him to come out and say something to the effect of "wow, I get why that was a racist and offensive thing to do and I did not intend it to be. I am truly sorry and I will be more conscious of the effect of what I say going forward."
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
Even if you give Donaldson the benefit of the doubt here, the instinct to say what he said is still not a great one (and frankly, that’s putting it kind of lightly).

The sooner we divorce our concept of “racist” from this picture we all have stuck in our brains, the better. And I’m including myself here.

Our concept of “racist”—the one that’s firmly lodged in our brain after inheriting centuries of imperialist/colonialist culture—is pretty much just: “person angrily says a slur.”

It is not always just that. It’s not a foul ball that lands outside the chalk and leaves a divot for everyone to point at.

You can’t separate race from the story of Jackie Robinson, and you can’t separate race from Josh Donaldson’s impulse to rile up a Black competitor by referring to him as “Jackie.”

Does it matter that Dolandson was referencing some interview from three years ago where Anderson referred to himself as Jackie Robinson? I... guess? Maybe like, a little bit? But if you’re choosing to look at it this way you’re already missing the point. Donaldson could be telling the truth about his intent. It really doesn’t make what he said less shitty.

I hope Josh Donaldson spends his day off thinking about why one of the tools in his competitive shit-talking toolbox (and one of the first ones he reached for this time) is to mock his Black opponent for uh... not being as good as Jackie Robinson.
Thanks for this explanation. I see the issue more clearly now.
 

OfTheCarmen

Cow Humper
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2007
5,208
They covered this on MLBN last night and one of the analysts made a really good point saying something along the lines of "If you realize you made a mistake and you're actually sorry for it, you dont appeal the suspension."
 

BlackJack

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 11, 2007
3,456
Regardless of intent, mocking a black player for comparing himself to Jackie Robinson can’t really be considered a “race-neutral” action.

This feels like the rare occasion where MLB got it just about right.
Yep. If Anderson had said "I kind of feel like today's Babe Ruth" and Donaldson had started calling him "Babe" it would have been a non-issue.

That the reference was to Jackie Robinson makes a huge difference and Donaldson ought to have known better.

Sitting out 1 game feels like a pretty fair consequence.
 

Archer1979

shazowies
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
7,866
Right Here
Regardless of intent, mocking a black player for comparing himself to Jackie Robinson can’t really be considered a “race-neutral” action.

This feels like the rare occasion where MLB got it just about right.
If they got it right, it wouldn't have been just a one-game suspension. Should have been more.

To be honest though, Donaldson is not the brightest bulb in the circuit. He probably has no idea why what he said could be considered racist.

Edit: Adding on... this somewhat reminds me of the Ben Chapman explanation in the "42" where he explains that he's trying to get under another player's skin and having absolutely no clue as to the impact.
 

NoXInNixon

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 24, 2008
5,296
Yep. If Anderson had said "I kind of feel like today's Babe Ruth" and Donaldson had started calling him "Babe" it would have been a non-issue.
So two hypothetical people who did exactly the same thing should be treated differently because of the color of their skin?

That's racist.
 

BlackJack

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 11, 2007
3,456
So two hypothetical people who did exactly the same thing should be treated differently because of the color of their skin?

That's racist.
I'm talking about the same two people doing a different thing.

The thing that happened:

Anderson: I'm like the guy changed the game by breaking the color barrier
Donaldson: I will mock you based on this

The thing I was supposing that wouldn't be a big deal:

Anderson: I'm like the guy who changed the game by hitting a metric fuckton of home runs
Donaldson: I will mock you based on this

Please feel free to disagree, or to let me know that I'm not picking up on sarcasm...

edit: breaking, not broking.
 

Ralphwiggum

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2012
9,824
Needham, MA
I mean, if the thing you are doing to mock the black player is in any way based on race, and the black player says he's bothered by it, you are probably doing something offensive even if you don't mean to be.

I don't know much about Donaldson but the interview I saw of him he seems like a classic asshole. Take your one game vacation, think about why you are being suspended and issue an actual apology and move on, dumbass.
 

ragnarok725

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 28, 2003
6,363
Somerville MA
It's exhausting to see the conversation about intent and the moral character of the transgressor dominate these conversations. Whether you think JD is or is not a capital-r Racist is not the most important issue. Making the case for or against is all just a distraction, and a failure to properly center the issue.
 

Mugsy's Jock

Eli apologist
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 28, 2000
15,069
UWS, NYC

Rovin Romine

Johnny Rico
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
23,672
Miami (oh, Miami!)
If they got it right, it wouldn't have been just a one-game suspension. Should have been more.

To be honest though, Donaldson is not the brightest bulb in the circuit. He probably has no idea why what he said could be considered racist.

Edit: Adding on... this somewhat reminds me of the Ben Chapman explanation in the "42" where he explains that he's trying to get under another player's skin and having absolutely no clue as to the impact.
These issues and lessons have been no small part of popular culture and discourse for Donaldson's entire life.

If there is an argument to be made along those lines, Donaldson should be blaming his peers, coaches, teachers, parents, and friends for carefully shielding him from those concepts. Which would put the whole "probably had no idea" thing to bed. In some ways the "no idea/was a joke" explanation is rather like Clemens saying "I thought it was a ball" when he threw the bat fragment at Piazza; it's just totally irrelevant.
 

Shaky Walton

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 20, 2019
717
Regardless of intent, mocking a black player for comparing himself to Jackie Robinson can’t really be considered a “race-neutral” action.

This feels like the rare occasion where MLB got it just about right.
I think it can.

It's quite possible that Donaldson intended to mock him for making the argubaly ludicrous claim to SI that he was a crusader for on field celebrations in a manner that was comparable to Jackie Robinson being the crusader for blacks in MLB.

I mean, please. I love on it when players style and show emotion. Fuck the unwritten rules in regard to that. So I'm with Anderson in leading the way on that, if he in fact did. But there's a lot of distance between these two crusades. They are not actually comparable.

We live in a PC world where certain things can't even be broached. So Donaldson should have known better than to go there.

But my view is that Anderson was an ass for making that comparison and Donaldson called him on it.

And again, I think Donaldson is jerk-off and I'm glad to be in the minority on this. Anything that cause him and the Yankees trouble is good with me. But sorry, I'm not buying it was racist. I'm long on that it was stupid not to read the room better.
 

Daniel_Son

Member
SoSH Member
May 25, 2021
1,683
San Diego
I mean, if the thing you are doing to mock the black player is in any way based on race, and the black player says he's bothered by it, you are probably doing something offensive even if you don't mean to be.

I don't know much about Donaldson but the interview I saw of him he seems like a classic asshole. Take your one game vacation, think about why you are being suspended and issue an actual apology and move on, dumbass.
Ding ding ding. If you're making comments that are deemed racist by individuals of that race - even if you didn't mean them that way - it's best to shut up, listen, apologize, and do better in the future. It's not your job (or our job, for that matter) to minimize the comments or their reaction.

Take the L and learn from it.
 

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
I think it can.

It's quite possible that Donaldson intended to mock him for making the argubaly ludicrous claim to SI that he was a crusader for on field celebrations in a manner that was comparable to Jackie Robinson being the crusader for blacks in MLB.

I mean, please. I love on it when players style and show emotion. Fuck the unwritten rules in regard to that. So I'm with Anderson in leading the way on that, if he in fact did. But there's a lot of distance between these two crusades. They are not actually comparable.

We live in a PC world where certain things can't even be broached. So Donaldson should have known better than to go there.

But my view is that Anderson was an ass for making that comparison and Donaldson called him on it.
We will have to agree to disagree on this one, because IMO it’s not a close call. And it has nothing to do with living in “a PC world.”

@Ralphwiggum said it best.


I mean, if the thing you are doing to mock the black player is in any way based on race, and the black player says he's bothered by it, you are probably doing something offensive even if you don't mean to be.
 

Shaky Walton

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 20, 2019
717
We will have to agree to disagree on this one, because IMO it’s not a close call. And it has nothing to do with living in “a PC world.”

@Ralphwiggum said it best.
It has everything to do with living in a PC world.

We are all hyper sensitive. We have been taught to be. Some words can never be said, even if they are being said when discussing them for what they mean to different people in different contexts. If I was a professor giving a class on race relations, and I actually used the "N Word," rather than said the "N Word," I might be accused of racism or fucking up in some way because I was trying to draw a distinction between how certain people use the word, for example. Even if I was the furthest thing on the planet from a racist.

Anderson heard the word "Jackie" and immediately assumed, as would most people, and as our PC world has conditioned us to, that Donaldson was calling him "Black Jackie" or making a reference to his race.

And maybe he was indeed. I don't know what was in Donaldson's head and heart.

But it's just as likely, and I think more likely, that Donaldson was calling him out for self aggrandizement, as a I said above.

That Anderson heard "racist comment" when the intent was arguably "you're a blowhard" doesn't convert it into racist.

Again, it might have been just that. But my guess is that Donaldson is too dumb to know that when he chose to go there, he would be opening the racist can of worms that he in fact opened.
 

Gdiguy

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
6,231
San Diego, CA
It has everything to do with living in a PC world.

We are all hyper sensitive. We have been taught to be. Some words can never be said, even if they are being said when discussing them for what they mean to different people in different contexts. If I was a professor giving a class on race relations, and I actually used the "N Word," rather than said the "N Word," I might be accused of racism or fucking up in some way because I was trying to draw a distinction between how certain people use the word, for example. Even if I was the furthest thing on the planet from a racist.

Anderson heard the word "Jackie" and immediately assumed, as would most people, and as our PC world has conditioned us to, that Donaldson was calling him "Black Jackie" or making a reference to his race.

And maybe he was indeed. I don't know what was in Donaldson's head and heart.

But it's just as likely, and I think more likely, that Donaldson was calling him out for self aggrandizement, as a I said above.

That Anderson heard "racist comment" when the intent was arguably "you're a blowhard" doesn't convert it into racist.

Again, it might have been just that. But my guess is that Donaldson is too dumb to know that when he chose to go there, he would be opening the racist can of worms that he in fact opened.
This seems a little too much like searching for an anti-PC argument

I think there's a reasonable argument in that vein if Donaldson did this in 2019, 2 weeks after Anderson made that comment. But to randomly bring it up 3 years later? At best he's just an asshole whose first instinct was go to for a racially tinged remark
 

ThePrideofShiner

Crests prematurely
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
10,687
Washington
I find it preposterous that people are legitimately trying to argue that Josh Donaldson was trying to give Anderson shit for a comment in an article multiple years ago. That is just a sad attempt to try to excuse abhorrent behavior from a known asshole in Josh Donaldson.

How many times has he played the White Sox since that article? Why is he just now criticizing him for that article?

No, he said some racist shit in an attempt to get under a player's skin. Doesn't matter if he knew it was racist or not, it is racist. Tim Anderson told us it was racist.

Donaldson should reflect on why Anderson thought it was racist, learn from it and try to not be such an asshole going forward.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
We will have to agree to disagree on this one, because IMO it’s not a close call. And it has nothing to do with living in “a PC world.”

@Ralphwiggum said it best.
Can't it be both? Regardless of the context or history Donaldson was wrong for making the insensitive comment. But can't Anderson also be criticized for comparing what Robinson did for players of color to what he's trying to do for players who want to celebrate homers?

To be 100% clear, Anderson's reason or justification for making the comparison has absolutely nothing to do with whether Donaldson was wrong. He was. But to be honest, when I started reading the articles I thought it was odd that Anderson invoked Robinson's name when discussing celebrating a homer.
 

Doc Zero

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2007
12,435
I don't know what was in Donaldson's head and heart.
It doesn't matter what's "in his head and heart." His intent here has close to zero relevancy. We're not trying to figure out whether or not Josh Donaldson is a bonafide racist. To continue to frame this discussion as if that's the goal is to obscure the real work that a lot of well-meaning people in this thread are trying to do by having the discussion in the first place.
 

Doc Zero

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2007
12,435
But can't Anderson also be criticized for comparing what Robinson did for players of color to what he's trying to do for players who want to celebrate homers?
Sure. If you want to do that, you can do that. No one's stopping you. And no one's stopping me from finding it a little odd that you're choosing to level these criticisms today, right now, in this very thread, within the context of this discussion, three years after that interview was published.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
8,411,586
NY
Sure. If you want to do that, you can do that. No one's stopping you. And no one's stopping me from finding it a little odd that you're choosing to level these criticisms today, right now, in this very thread, within the context of this discussion, three years after that interview was published.
The reason it came up today is because a lot of people, myself included, never heard about any of this until last night. If you think there should be a separate thread to discuss Anderson's interview you'll get no argument from me. It's clearly the less important issue, but it's obviously related to this story.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.