After being ejected from Tuesday night’s game, San Francisco Giants first base coach Antoan Richardson said that San Diego Padres coach Mike Shildt yelled profanities at him that “reeked undertones of racism.”
A day later, the opposing coaches addressed to the media together and seemed to clear the air.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Richardson asked reporters come back to the clubhouse and explained his side of the ejection that came after the Giants’ Steven Duggar stole a base with a 10-1 lead in the second inning.
Richardson said that Shildt approached the Giants’ dugout between innings and after a brief exchange, the Padres coach yelled “you need to control that motherf—-er” to San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler, about Richardson.
Richardson reacted and was ejected by umpire Greg Gibson.
“I think his words were disproportionately unwarranted and reeked undertones of racism when he referred to me as ‘that (expletive)’ as if to be controlled or a piece of property or enslaved,” Richardson said Tuesday night. “I think it’s just really important we understand what happened tonight.”
Speaking on the field before Wednesday’s game, Richardson said he chatted with Shilft and wanted to “make it very clear that in no way did I believe that Shildty is a racist.”
“What I was trying to do was bring awareness to how words impact certain communities even though they may not have ill intent,” Richardson said.
“Sometimes words that are harmless are very insensitive to others,” Richardson said. “It’s just really important that we are conscious of the things we are saying. …
“Shildty has been a big supporter of the Black community. I appreciate him taking ownership and understanding the impact of his words and that we can move on from this and play baseball.”
With Giants players and coaches looking on, Shildt gave his perspective on the previous night’s incident.
“I think good is going to come of this, because now the reality is that we handled this tough solution publicly as men with solution and our heart without any animosity. I think it’s a great example of how people can communicate together regardless of background or color,” Shildt said.
After being ejected, Richardson was replaced by Alyssa Nakken, who became the first female on-field coach in 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.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants’ Antoan Richardson accuses Mike Shildt of ‘racial undertones’