Tim Anderson Admits Josh Donaldson Called Him ‘Jackie’ Back In 2019

Tim Anderson has finally broken his silence on Josh Donaldson’s one-game suspension for calling him “Jackie,” in reference to Jackie Robinson. He admits Donaldson made the same joke back in 2019 — backing up Josh Donaldson’s postgame comment. Overall, it sounds like he’s running from a back-and-forth exchange that could answer the various questions we have. Questions we should always raise when someone gets called out for being a racist.

“I can definitely move on but I’m not looking for no friendship or relationship from that behalf,” Anderson said. “I told him, ‘we never have to speak again. I won’t speak to you, you won’t speak to me,’ if that’s how you’re going to refer to me. I knew he knew exactly what he was doing.”

How convenient that the offended player opts to pass on a dialogue that would likely end in a resolution? Sounds a lot like Tim Anderson knows talking it out would rid Donaldson of his suspension and public backlash. Typical divisive non sense.

Tim Anderson didn’t have an opinion either way on Josh Donaldson’s punishment. Said it’s true Donaldson called him Jackie in 2019 but Anderson didn’t like it then and so there was no contact between the two while Donaldson was in Minny. Then he called him it on Saturday.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 24, 2022

Tim Anderson says the incident is behind him: “I can definitely move on but I’m not looking for no friendship or relationship from that behalf.”

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 24, 2022

Tim Anderson after being called Jackie by Donaldson in 2019: “I told him, we never have to talk again. I won’t speak to you, you won’t speak to me, if that’s how you’re going to refer to me. I knew he knew exactly what he was doing.”

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 24, 2022

Whether we’re discussing this incident or not, politics are involved in just about all walks of life. Our jobs, professional sports, movies, and even our music. In this case, it’s liberal Twitter and sports media gaining up on Josh Donaldson to help solidify the narrative that he’s a racist. No dialogue needs to be had — everyone watched a 25-second clip without a shred of audio, and drew the conclusions on both sides. Anderson was in the crosshairs of hate speech while Donaldson showed his true colors. Short-cutting events to create further division in this country.

The only thing that could un-do the suspension is sitting Anderson and Donaldson in a room to talk it out. Not only that but it’s also not out the question that Tim Anderson walks away with a better understanding of Josh Donaldson. Unfortunately, Anderson suggests a similar remark was made in 2019, and now suddenly he’s crossed the line? He held a grudge for three years and just now decided he had enough? A series of events that appears hyper sensitive and in a hurry to create enemies out of nothing. Calling a player “Jackie” after he’s called himself “today’s Jackie Robinson” isn’t that bad. It’s absolutely not worth a suspension from Major League Baseball, although we almost expected it.

Subjective offense can’t be used as ammunition to draw a suspension of another player. Doing so only opened up Pandora’s Box for more rabbit-eared athletes to create victims of themselves. After today’s comments, Josh Donaldson and his agent should make a strong case to overturn this suspension. Black people, and minorities face plenty challenges today, being called “Jackie” as a multi-millionare athlete is not one of them.