White Sox's Chris Sale Doesn't Regret Standing Up For Beliefs In Jersey-Cutting Outburst
(CBS) Breaking his silence after receiving a five-game suspension for an incident in which he cut up the White Sox's throwback uniforms before Saturday's scheduled start, left-hander Chris Sale expressed remorse for not being on the mound for his teammates but expressed no regret for standing up for his beliefs.
"I have regret, because I play 33 times a year at most in the regular season," Sale tole MLB.com. "So I put a lot of emphasis on when I play and I take a lot of pride in work that I do. When I can't or don't do that, yeah, I have disappointment in myself for not being there for my guys.
"Do I regret standing up for what I believe in? Absolutely not. Do I regret saying business should not be first before winning? Absolutely not."
Sale was upset with the 1976 throwback uniforms -- which were scheduled to be worn in conjunction with a promotional giveaway -- because they're "uncomfortable and unorthodox," and he was angry manager Robin Ventura didn't stand up for him on this issue and call for different jerseys to be worn. Sale expressed his desire to wear anything besides the 1976 uniforms to Ventura and pitching coach Don Cooper, but when nothing changed, he had his outburst and was then sent home.
"Robin is the one who has to fight for us in that department," Sale told MLB.com. "If the players don't feel comfortable 100 percent about what we are doing to win the game, and we have an easy fix -- it was as easy as hanging up another jersey and everyone was fine. For them to put business first over winning, that's when I lost it."
Sale indicated he doesn't want to be traded and his goal is still to win a championship in Chicago.
"I don't think I would be traded," Sale said. "I don't know for sure. I don't know what they are thinking now or what's going on."
Sale's suspension runs through Wednesday, and he's scheduled to start Thursday against the Cubs. He's 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA.