Josh Donaldson: Yankees' Criticism of Tim Anderson Remark 'Tough to Hear'

New York Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson addressed criticism he's received from his team for directing a racist comment at Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.

"I think that was tough to hear. For sure," the 36-year-old told reporters Wednesday. "Just for the simple fact that, I pride myself on being a good teammate."

During a May 21 game between the Yankees and White Sox, Donaldson called Anderson "Jackie," referring to baseball legend Jackie Robinson. After the game, Anderson said it was "very disrespectful" and agreed when told that White Sox manager Tony La Russa had called it racist.

Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge told reporters that "it wasn't the right thing to do there." New York manager Aaron Boone said, "This is just somewhere in my opinion he should not be going. When I first heard the name Jackie mentioned, I was really taken aback and frankly upset about it myself."

Donaldson, who was suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount for the comment, has apologized to Anderson and the Robinson family and maintains he had no ill-intent.

"That's definitely not who I am by any stretch of the matter," he said Wednesday. "After the confrontation happened, I made sure that I talked to [teammates] I talked to Boone. I said, 'Hey, this is what happened. I don't know why this is all of a sudden getting blown out of proportion.'"

Donaldson added that he hopes to prove himself as a good teammate going forward.

"I think part of winning is having a good team chemistry," he said. "And I've taken pride like everywhere I went I've always tried to help people try to get better. I've tried to learn from my teammates as well. So that was definitely tough."