Donaldson apologizes to Robinson’s family
Josh Donaldson has apologized to the wife and family of Jackie Robinson for referencing the pioneering Black baseball player in remarks that led to a confrontation with Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson.
The New York Yankees third baseman was suspended for one game and fined on Monday by Major League Baseball. The league said Donaldson’s comment on Saturday was “disrespectful and in poor judgment.” Donaldson has appealed the discipline.
“First and foremost, I have the utmost respect for what Tim Anderson brings to the game of baseball,” Donaldson said in a statement Thursday issued through his agency, MVP Sports.
“I stated over the weekend that I apologized for offending Tim and that it was a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years. My view of that exchange hasn’t changed and I absolutely meant no disrespect. In the past, it had never been an issue and now that it is, we have a mutual understanding.
“I would also like to apologize to Mrs. Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson family for any distress this incident may have caused. Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard.”
Donaldson said after Saturday’s game that he twice called Anderson by “Jackie.” Robinson broke MLB’s barrier in 1947.
PRO POKER
A former World Series of Poker bracelet winner has been arrested for his alleged role in a sports betting scheme that collected more than $25 million from victims.
In a two-count indictment filed May 17, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charged Cory Zeidman, of Boca Raton, Florida, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his alleged role in the scheme, which ran from around January 2004 to March 2020, according to prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Zeidman and his associates placed radio ads in various markets “which falsely advertised a ‘sophisticated whitecollar approach to gathering sports information’ and promised ‘wagering as investing, not high-risk gambling.’”
Listeners were instructed to call a phone number, where they heard “among other things, that certain sporting events were predetermined, or ‘fixed,’” and that Zeidman and his associates “had ‘privileged’ or ‘inside’ information” from team physicians and television executives, per prosecutors. Listeners were asked to pay for this information, which Zeidman and his associates claimed would lead to no-risk wagers.
According to prosecutors, several victims sent payments totaling in excess of $25 million through interstate wire transfers and private and commercial carriers.
Zeidman, according to ESPN, is a professional poker player who won a bracelet at the 2012 World Series of Poker.
NFL
The Baltimore Ravens have signed quarterback Brett Hundley. The Ravens announced the move Thursday. Hundley appeared in two preseason games with the Indianapolis Colts last season. The previous time he played in a regular-season game was in 2019, when he appeared in three for the Arizona Cardinals.
He also played in 15 games for the Green Bay Packers in 2016 and 2017, making nine starts in the latter season.
UW FOOTBALL
Wisconsin is set to open its 2022 football season at night. The Badgers’ Sept. 3 opener against visiting Illinois State is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., with FS1 carrying the game.
Here are the details on five other UW games: Sept. 10 vs. Washington State, 2:30 p.m. on Fox; Sept. 17 vs. New Mexico State, 2:30 p.m. on BTN; Oct. 8 at Northwestern, 2:30 or 3 p.m. Network TBD; Oct. 15 at Michigan St., 2:30 or 3 p.m. Network TBD; Oct. 22 vs. Purdue, 2:30 p.m. Network TBD.