National’s pitcher Cade Cavalli apologizes for ‘sit down, boy’ remark made to Willson Contreras
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The Nationals pitcher said there was “no ill intention” behind the comment but acknowledged he has learned why the phrase is viewed differently.
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli is expressing regret over a comment directed at Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras that triggered a bench clearing scuffle and four ejections during Tuesday night’s game at Fenway Park. The Athletic reported that Cavalli told Contreras to “sit down, boy” after striking him out in the fourth inning.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, Cavalli said the situation has weighed heavily on him. “I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” he said, per The Athletic. “Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. that sees that, that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn’t intended the way that it came out, and then he’s not looking up to me anymore—that hurts my heart.”
Cavalli shared that he understood that there was a racist history attached to the word, according to ESPN.
“There’s a history behind that word, and that’s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing whiffle ball with my brother, you don’t understand it. And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It’ll never happen again.”
The Athletic noted that Cavalli had not initially included the word “boy” when recounting the incident in the postgame clubhouse on Tuesday. Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, however, said it was clear what Cavalli had shouted, describing it as said “at the top of his lungs.”
Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni told reporters Wednesday that the team would not be disciplining Cavalli internally, saying he did not believe Cavalli intended to “demean someone in some racial way.” However, Toboni acknowledged that intent does not cancel out impact. “It doesn’t matter if your intent is OK,” Toboni said, as reported by The Athletic. “Because the bottom line is, there are folks around Washington, D.C., and around the country that might receive it differently than you receive it.”
Tracy, for his part, deferred to MLB when asked whether Cavalli should face league discipline. “I’m gonna let them decide that,” he said, adding that multiple camera angles from Fenway would give the league enough to make a thorough assessment.
Contreras did not address the media ahead of Wednesday’s game and kept his Tuesday night comments brief, telling reporters, “Whatever happened there happened. I will not be making any comments about it. I feel like it’s going to go against me.”
Neither Cavalli nor Nationals manager Blake Butera had reached out to Contreras directly as of Wednesday, though Cavalli said he hopes his message gets through.
“I have not reached out to him. I know that we’re both competitors. I hope that he hears this and he understands that was not what was intended at all. I think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that,” shared Cavalli.