After being slapped with a fine and suspended from a game, Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson has issued a statement regarding his “joke” about calling White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson “Jackie” during an MLB game over the weekend. The comments were denounced by teammate Aaron Judge, while Chicago manager Tony La Russa called the comment “racist,” CBS reports. Donaldson, who is white, began by affirming that he has the “utmost respect” for what Anderson, who is Black, brings to the game. He claimed that he apologized, but the incident, which ignited tensions between the teams, was “a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years.” In the past, “it” had never been an issue, he said. The third baseman concluded with an apology to the Robinson family: “Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard.”