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New York Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr. was booed during presentations for the World Baseball Classic on Friday while representing Team Great Britain.
Chisholm was the only player to be booed during the preview of Great Britain’s match against Mexico, which took place in Houston, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Chisholm was also taunted every time he came to the plate.
The reason for the booing is unknown.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. #3 of Team Great Britain poses for a photo during the Team Great Britain photo day at American Family Fields of Phoenix, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photos Norm Hall/WBCI/MLB via Getty Images)
Chisholm chose to play for Great Britain because he was born in the Bahamas, a former British colony and current Commonwealth kingdom, making him eligible under tournament rules.
Chisholm drew criticism several times during the 2025 season while playing for the Yankees. He was initially suspended for one game and fined by MLB for posting “Not even fucking close!!!!” on X, appearing to refer to a referee’s decision to send him off during an April match. The one-match suspension was overturned on appeal, but a fine remained.
The infielder was mocked on social media after a running error against his former team, the Miami Marlins, in August.
Chisholm was on first base in the top of the second inning with Paul Goldschmidt at bat. The Yankees slugger appeared in front of Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards. Chisholm was too far from first base and was caught taking a nap. Edwards then threw the ball to first for the inning-ending double play.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #3 of Great Britain reacts before the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool B game against Mexico at Daikin Park on March 6, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
“What was Chisholm thinking?” asked Yankees play-by-play manager Michael Kay.
Chishlom said afterward that he wouldn’t have changed anything, adding that he was trying to be aggressive on the base paths by forcing Edwards to possibly make an error. He later did not start Game 1 of the Yankees’ Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox early in the postseason.
When reporters approached Chisholm in the Yankee clubhouse after the game, he paid little attention, keeping his back turned for most of his media session and shuffling things around in his locker.
“We have to do whatever we have to do to win, right? That’s how I see it,” he said reluctantly.
After the Yankees’ playoff exit in a divisional round loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Chisholm received backlash for a photo showing him partying with 50 Cent at a New York nightclub.
July 19, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, United States; New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) on third base against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Truist Park. (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
Before last season began last March, Chisholm raised eyebrows when he said baseball was a “white sport.”
“I don’t mean that. Baseball is a white sport. I feel like white people criticize everything a black man does. Black men speak straight. They say what they think.” he told The Athletic. “The unwritten rules of baseball are white. And I have always broken the unwritten rules of baseball.”
