Thomas upset over White Sox’s Black History Month graphic

Posted February 02, 2026 3:24 pm

By Devon Henderson

Time heals all wounds, but it appears that not enough time has passed to repair the relationship between Frank Thomas and the White Sox, where the Hall of Fame slugger spent 16 of his 19 major-league seasons.

The White Sox shared a timeline of the franchise’s “momentous firsts” on social media Sunday to commemorate the start of Black History Month. Thomas, the organization’s career home-run leader, is mentioned once on the graphic, where it is noted that Dick Allen was the first Black player to win league MVP as a member of the White Sox, with Thomas joining the late Hall of Famer with MVP nods in 1993 and 1994.

Thomas replied to the team’s post on X. “I guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable! Don’t worry I’m taking Receipts,” he wrote.

Thomas and the franchise that drafted him with the No. 7 pick in 1989 had a messy divorce in the mid-aughts. According to news reports, in 2006 Thomas sued two doctors the White Sox had contracted to treat players, alleging that the physicians had misdiagnosed a fractured bone in his foot as a bruise in 2004 and cleared him to play, which led to another fracture in the same foot in 2005. Thomas and the doctors agreed to settle the medical negligence lawsuit in 2011, before the case went to trial.

The White Sox won the World Series in 2005, but Thomas played only 34 games that season and did not appear in the World Series. After the season, the franchise bought out Thomas’ contract and he signed with the Oakland Athletics. He spent the last three seasons of his career with the A’s and Toronto Blue Jays before retiring in 2008.

In the final years of his tenure with the White Sox, Thomas clashed publicly with then-general manager Ken Williams, with the most notable dispute centered on the team’s 2002 decision to invoke a “diminished skills” clause in Thomas’ contract, which allowed the organization to reduce his pay. Williams, who in 2000 became the White Sox’s first Black general manager and the third Black GM in MLB history, was mentioned three times in the team’s Black History Month graphic.

The bitter feud between Thomas and Williams remained evident in 2006, after the slugger had joined the Athletics. “Believe me, it’s not easy to deal with an idiot,” Williams told reporters. “And this man, over the course of the years, has tried my patience and tried it and tried it.

“He’s an Oakland A’s problem,” Williams said. “I don’t know why I’m talking about (the) guy. Play two or three games in a row before you start popping off.”

Thomas’ response reflected the damaged relationship between the franchise and its former star. “There’s nothing else to talk about,” he said. “As for love lost, basically there was not much love there the last five years. We’ll just move forward.”

Since retiring as a player, Thomas has at times worked for the White Sox in various roles. The franchise named him a team ambassador in 2010, responsible for representing the team at charity events and public functions. That same year, the organization retired Thomas’ No. 35. In 2016, the White Sox made Thomas a special consultant for business operations. The slugger attended a 10th anniversary celebration for the World Series championship team in 2015, but he wasn’t present for the 20-year reunion in 2025.

Now, with Thomas expressing his displeasure over the franchise’s Black History Month graphic on social media, the Hall of Famer’s frustrations with the White Sox have resurfaced.