The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

San Francisco Giants first base coach Antoan Richardson was ejected from Tuesday night’s contest against the San Diego Padres but the story that emerged was the confrontation that led to the incident.

Richardson said Padres coach Mike Shildt yelled an expletive toward the Giants’ dugout that “reeked undertones of racism.”

According to Richardson, Shildt approached the Giants dugout in search of Giants reliever Alex Wood, prompting an exchange between the two coaches.

“[Shildt] yelled, ‘You need to control that [expletive]. At that point in time, I went to the top step and said, ‘Excuse me?’ because I couldn’t believe what I heard. At that point in time, [Greg] Gibson, the crew chief, decided to toss me from the game,” Richardson told reporters following the game.

“I say this because his words were disproportionately unwarranted and reeked undertones of racism when he referred to me as ‘that [expletive],’ as if I was to be controlled or a piece of property or enslaved. I think it’s just really important we understand what happened tonight. And the second part that’s equally disappointing is that me being tossed by that umpire empowers this coach to continue to have conversations like that with people like me, and that’s really unfortunate that’s what happened tonight.”

Richardson said Gibson justified his ejection by calling him the instigator in the incident.

“The umpire said to me that I was instigating,” Richardson said. “At that point in time, I asked: ‘This person called me a [expletive], and I’m being an instigator?’”

Following Richardson’s ejection, he was replaced by Alyssa Nakken who became the first woman in MLB history to coach on the field during a regular-season game.

“I’m really excited that Alyssa got her opportunity to make her major league debut, and I’m very proud of her,” Richardson said. “I think she did a really wonderful job, and we got a win, so that’s the most important thing.”

The incident between the two reached a resolution yesterday when Richardson and Shildt embraced prior to the series finale.

“In no way did I believe that he is a racist,” Richardson said, “What I was trying to do was just bring awareness to how words impact certain communities, even though they may not have ill intent. Helping us to be more aware of what those things mean when we do share them.”

Shildt added: “I’m grateful for Antoan clearing that up. Clearly misinterpreted and I think he knows this. My value as a human is to love people and that’s exactly what I represent, so I appreciate him clearing that up for myself and my family. It’s really important that is clear.”

Richardson has been an outspoken voice on the role of minorities in the sport.

In July 2020, he joined several players and staff that knelt during the national anthem in protest before the Giants’ 6-2 exhibition victory against the Oakland Athletics.

The group included right fielder Jaylin Davis, who is African American and appeared in 17 games for the Giants. Davis said he leaned on Richardson for support as one of the few minorities in a leadership position within the game.

“I think this is more something we want to use as an opportunity to bring awareness that sometimes words that are harmless are very insensitive to others, and it’s really important that we are conscious of the things we are saying,” Richardson said Wednesday alongside Shildt, “I appreciate him taking ownership and understanding the impact of his words, and that we can move on from this and play baseball.”