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Cavalli appeared to tell Wilson Contreras to "Sit down, boy" during a bench-clearing scrum
The benches were cleared during the game between the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals, with the scrap stemming from a beef between Nats pitcher Cade Cavalli and Sox first baseman Willson Contreras.
During the scrum, Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli appeared to tell Boston Red Sox three-time All-Star first baseman Wilson Contreras to “sit down, boy,” which is a comment that’s been perceived by some as being racist.
Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli accused of making racist remark to Wilson Contreras by telling him to “Sit down, boy”
Cade Cavalli said, “Sit down, boy.”
Oh Willson Contreras had every right to freak out.
What a loser Cavalli is. pic.twitter.com/o3S7vU5OK5
— SleeperRedSox (@SleeperRedSox) July 1, 2026
“It’s a classless thing to say.”
Red Sox broadcasters didn’t like how Cade Cavalli went out of his way to antagonize Willson Contreras, given his emotional state with everything that’s happened Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/mbo6zkYn5k
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 1, 2026
Cade Cavalli: “I didn’t say anything”
My guy you literally said some of the most racially charged shit you could say lmao.
Bro thinks we don’t have ears 😭. pic.twitter.com/pSpgmhWeob
— Mike (@GMagz_420) July 1, 2026
“Unreal situation in Boston. You got a white pitcher yelling ‘sit down boy,’ to a Hispanic person. You’re not going to be able to convince the smart people on here that there isn’t a racial undertone there. Cade Cavalli is straight up a piece of s—,” one baseball fan tweeted.
“Yeah ngl ‘sit down boy’ coming from a white dude from Oklahoma just doesn’t sit right,” a second agreed.
Contreras, however, said that he does not know if the comment was racist because he is Venezuelan and not American, and will leave that determination to Major League Baseball.
After the game, Cavalli claimed that he “didn’t say anything” and that his has “extreme respect” for Contreras.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re all extremely competitive. It’s a competitive environment out there. Um, I don’t know if you guys saw what he did in the first inning. I’m walking off the field. It’s just part of the game. We have respect for each other,” Cavalli said after the game.
“I have extreme respect for him. My heart goes out to Venezuela. I understand what he’s going through. Um, it breaks my heart what he’s going through, but there’s a certain level of respect that you have for other players, and I have respect for him. Um, but you don’t run by me and just brush me while I’m going off the field. It’s just not something you do in this game. Um, and I didn’t say anything in the moment, and, you know, I strike him out, words were said. Um, we don’t want that to happen. We were just competitive.”
Cavalli — 5-4 record, 3.69 ERA, and 102 strikeouts so far this season — threw a career-high 13 strikeouts in the game, which the Nationals won by a score of 8-1. Contreras went 0-for-2 on his two plate appearances.
The pitcher has been with the Washington Nationals for his entire MLB career, having been drafted by the team with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.