Giants coach Antoan Richardson, whose ejection during Tuesday’s game resulted in Alyssa Nakken’s historic coaching debut, accused Padres coach Mike Shildt of yelling an expletive at him that “reeked undertones of racism” before getting ejected.
Richardson, who is Black, spoke at length about the sequence of events that led to his getting thrown out in the third inning of San Francisco’s 13–2 victory over San Diego. The Giants’ first-base coach explained that the incident started when Shildt, the Padres’ third-base coach, began to approach San Francisco’s dugout.
After the two assistants exchanged a few words, Richardson said that Shildt, who is white, yelled, “You need to control that motherf---er” to the Giants’ dugout. Richardson said that the comment prompted his reaction and subsequent ejection for “instigating.”
“[Shildt] yelled ‘You need to control that motherf---er,’” Richardson told reporters, per Evan Webeck of the Mercury News. “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, Gibson, the crew chief, decided to toss me from the game.
"I say this because his words were disproportionately unwarranted and reeked undertones of racism when he referred to me as 'that motherf---er,' 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 he did not use any vulgar language at any point during the exchange between him and Shildt. The Padres’ third-base coach and San Diego manager Bob Melvin did not comment on the specifics of the incident after the game.
Following Richardson’s ejection, Nakken came in as the Giants’ first-base coach for the remainder of the game. Her appearance made her the first woman in Major League Baseball 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.”
Richardson, who is from the Bahamas, explained that he shared his account of the incident because he wants to help “people who look like me.”
"It's important that we bring awareness to this," Richardson said. "Unfortunately, this is what exists in our world, and I think it's important that we understand when we do make comments and we do take actions like this, what that means for communities.
“I share this story not just for myself, but I share this story for other people that look like me. I know I’ve had the full support of my teammates and others that I would be letting them down if I did not share this story tonight.”
