Jim Thome’s appearance at Wednesday’s Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox ALDS Game 3 sparked debate because of the Hall of Famer’s long history with Cleveland.

The situation drew attention after Thome attended the game at Rate Field wearing an unbranded black polo that matched Chicago’s Black Out theme. ESPN Cleveland took to X, formerly Twitter, Thursday with a clip of Guardians reporter Andre Knott explaining why the former superstar’s choice did not bother him.

“The Thome thing, when I first saw it, I kind of was like, ‘eh,’ but it really don’t bother me because as I had to tell somebody else, and y’all know this, hey man, pro athletes and most human beings see respect out of paychecks and not statutes.”

“Pro athletes and most human beings see respect out of paychecks and not statutes,” – @DreKnott weighs in on Jim Thome wearing White Sox colors against the Guardians.

Did it bother you that Thome did that? pic.twitter.com/YZc6dvrgae

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 8, 2026

Thome played for the organization, then known as the Cleveland Indians, from 1991 through 2002 before returning in 2011. The franchise unveiled his statue at Progressive Field in 2014 and retired his No. 25 four years later.

The Hall of Famer also has longstanding connections to Chicago. He played for the White Sox from 2006 until 2009 and has worked for the organization since 2013. He currently serves as a special assistant to general manager Chris Getz.

His son, Landon Thome, joined the organization after Chicago selected him No. 34 overall in the 2026 MLB Draft.

The moment placed his Guardians legacy alongside his current ties to Chicago, where he has worked for more than a decade and where his son now plays in the organization.

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Those Chicago connections help explain why his appearance at Rate Field carried a different context than his Cleveland legacy alone.

The former slugger did not wear a White Sox jersey or any visible team logo at Game 3. The Guardians won 9-3 to avoid elimination and cut Chicago’s ALDS lead to 2-1.

Knott framed the issue around paychecks rather than the symbolism of Thome’s Cleveland statue, ahead of Thursday night’s Game 4.