Last week, Tim Anderson served his one-game suspension for reportedly using profane language during a benches-clearing incident between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. He doesn’t regret his actions one bit.
“I would rather just flush it and keep going,” Anderson told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Because it would have dragged on for another week or two if I appealed. I just didn’t want to go through that process.”
Following a crushing two-run home run, the White Sox shortstop tossed his bat towards his dugout which drew the ire of the opposing team.
Two innings later, Royals right-hander Brad Keller decided to plunk Anderson the next time up which caused players to come out and be separated. During that meleee, Anderson was said to have called Keller, who is white, a “weak-ass f—— n—-.”
“People don’t know what we go through as black men and they don’t know exactly where we come from being a black man, and the culture of being a black man,” Anderson said. “What I said was one of those things that happens when black men get mad. When we’re angry, that’s like the go-to word. That lets them know that this guy is serious. It’s a culture thing. I didn’t mean anything by it, but that’s just in my language.”
Fellow athletes around the league such as Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman and former second baseman Micah Johnson also had their thoughts on the situation.
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“You can’t suspend someone for language. That’s ridiculous,” Stroman tweeted. “Also, what (Anderson) said is also normal slang trash talk in our culture.”
“It’s not your job to police how black people use it. … You won’t ever have to endure a barrage of N-words used to threaten you as you try to vote. And you won’t ever have 100 camera angles catching your response as someone pegs you with 90-plus-mph rocks. …
Suspending one of your few black players for language after getting hit … will leave you with white benches.”
As far as his 2019 season goes, Anderson is hitting .418/.443/.642 with four home runs and nine stolen bases through 17 games.
