‘Something That Caught Me off Guard’- Yankees Legend Derek Jeter on Being Viewed as ‘Racially Neutral’ Throughout Historic MLB Career

Derek Jeter was a once-in-a-lifetime player. A true leader in the ballparks, the former New York Yankees captain, will go down as one of the best to grace the game of baseball. He is probably the only athlete in the sporting world, whose name became a synonym for the word ‘captain.’

From winning the World Series titles five times to getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Jeter won everything that a baseball player can dream of. However, there is still a part of his career where, to date, he feels bothered.

Notably, Jeter belongs to a bi-racial background. His father was black while his mother has a white identity. And because of this, even a successful athlete like Derek Jeter has suffered a lot during his playing days. Recently, the former Yankee reacted to the incident when a sports journalist questioned his race.

Derek Jeter left bothered when asked about his racial background

Jeter recently spoke with Time.com in an exclusive interview, Sean Gregory discussed a part of ‘The Captain’ docuseries with Derek Jeter; In which when a sports journalist commented about his racial identity, whether he felt bothered or not. 

“Derek Jeter does not identify racially… He just seemed to be racially neutral. Derek Jeter was almost colorless, not only physically, but also in the way he spoke,” were the words of sports journalist Wallace Matthews.

Reacting to the incident, the former Yankees captain said that one can not make a personal comment about someone else. And he also admitted it hurt him deeply.

READ MORE: ‘…That’s How Society Is Going to View You’- Yankees Derek Jeter Gets Real on Struggling to Make Waves in the MLB With a Bi-racial Background

“It speaks for itself. You can’t have a comment where you’re speaking for me when you’ve never asked the question about how I identify. It was something that caught me off guard and there was a real and genuine reaction,” Jeter said.

Notably, it is painful to learn that a player as successful as Jeter had to go through such vile things. But it was brave of him to discuss this publicly. No matter what, he will always be a true ambassador of the beautiful game.

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What is your take on this whole incident?