Baseball player Josh Donaldson admits he would have liked to count on more support from his New York Yankees teammates following the recent controversy in which he was accused of racism.
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“I think it was hard to hear, certainly, just because I’ve always taken pride in being a good teammate,” the 36-year-old Yankees veteran was quoted by ESPN as saying.
However, the subject was delicate, the ground slippery. Manager Aaron Boone preferred to blame Donaldson, as did Aaron Judge, among others.
“Joke or no, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do,” Judge said.
Donaldson, who also played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2015 to 2018, may have lacked judgment, but had no racist intentions when dressing up Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox , nicknamed Jackie. The Yankees veteran, who has also apologized to the family of Jackie Robinson, explained that this comment issued on May 21 was only a reference to an old interview during which Anderson had self- proclaimed the “new Jackie Robinson”.
“I think having good team chemistry is an important part of winning,” Donaldson added. Wherever I played, I always tried to help people become better.
Currently in the injured group, Donaldson could return to play with the Yankees on Sunday or early next week. In 37 games this season, he batted .238, hitting five home runs and driving in 15 runs.
