Nationals Ace Cade Cavalli Says He's 'Extremely Torn Up' About His Role in Brawl
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On Wednesday, the Washington Nationals beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-2, to win the series.
It was an important win for the Nationals, as they rebounded nicely following their historic losses against the Philadelphia Phillies to win two consecutive sets and remain in the playoff race. However, what occurred on Wednesday was secondary to the story regarding what happened the day prior, when a comment made by Cade Cavalli to Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras started a benches-clearing brawl.
The phrase, "sit down, boy" was exclaimed by Cavalli after he struck out Contreras. And while Contreras, who's Venezuelan, didn't take it as a racial comment in the moment, the racial connotation of the using the word "boy" made this incident a massive story.
Cade Cavalli Apologizes for His Choice of Words
Cavalli apologized for the his role in the incident. Per Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic (subscription required), the 27-year-old said he felt terrible about his word choice and that he wouldn't use that phrase again.
"I'm extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived. 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. It's really tough. I've learned a lot. The intention was perceived different than what my heart is and who I am as a person, my character," Cavalli stated.
Nationals Won't Punish Cade Cavalli, MLB Might
Following a conversation with president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera, Washington shared that they aren't going to punish Cavalli. Toboni said they didn't believe the right-hander's comment was to "demean someone in some racial way," so it appears like this is going to be used as a learning experience for Cavalli.
That doesn't mean Major League Baseball won't levy out a punishment of some sort, though. Whether that comes by a fine or even a suspension, the MLB could step in and discipline Cavalli following their investigation into the incident.
Boston's interim manager Chad Tracy, who was ejected on Tuesday night after arguing with umpires that Cavalli should have been ejected from the game for his role in the benches-clearing brawl, deferred to the league when it comes to a possible punishment for Cavalli. However, he did say that he's "hopeful that they will" hand out some sort of penalty based on the comment that was made.
"It was just when it happened, it was like 'Whoa,' when you heard that," Tracy said.
Because the Nationals aren't going to levy internal punishment to Cavalli, all eyes will be on what Major League Baseball decides to do when it comes to how they are going to handle this event.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai