CHICAGO — A return to the Windy City brought some blowback for Keynan Middleton.

The new Yankees reliever, acquired from the White Sox at the trade deadline last Tuesday, returned to Guaranteed Rate Field for a 5-1 loss Monday in the middle of a controversy after criticizing his former team’s culture.

Middleton told ESPN on Sunday that the White Sox had “no rules” and that the club had a leadership problem, adding: “They say s–t rolls downhill.”

Middleton did not back down from his comments Monday.

“I said what I said and I stand on that,” Middleton said in the Yankees’ clubhouse. “I believe there’s a right way to go about business and do that. But I honestly don’t want to comment anymore on it. I said what I said and I really truly feel that in my heart. But right now, my sole focus is being a Yankee and my future being a Yankee moving forward and making the playoffs.”

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn told reporters that Middleton’s comments were “a little bit ironic” because the reliever had apologized to him last week for “unprofessional behavior” that first-year manager Pedro Grifol had called him out for.

Middleton declined to comment when asked if that was accurate, but explained why he did not speak up about the cultural problem while he was with the White Sox.

“I didn’t really know how to go about it,” he said. “I wasn’t in a comfortable position. I was a minor league [signee], came up on a 45-day clause where they could send me back to Triple-A. I really wasn’t in a position where I could stand up with my back fully straight and not worry about the consequences that would fall back on me.”