As the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to receive an invitation from President Donald Trump.
The Dodgers sealed World Series glory last Fall when they routed the New York Yankees in a dominant 5-1 series win. Ordinarily, this would earn them the customary White House visit afforded to US sports teams to honor their victories.
However, the Los Angeles Times has suggested that Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and co. should shun the traditional trip to the White House.
The recent column from the Los Angeles-based outlet highlighted a number of reasons to suggest that the city’s victorious MLB team could reject the offer from DC.
The Times recalled that Betts skipped the customary visit in 2019 following his World Series win with the Boston Red Sox.
A number of Red Sox players stayed away from the nation’s capital that year with the majority black or Latino, while many foreign-born players citied Trump’s policies on immigration as a motive behind their reasoning.
The Dodgers will likely receive an invitation to the White House after their World Series win
The LA Times has suggested that the reigning champions could shun Donald Trump’s offer
Betts has remained an outspoken advocate on social justice issues with some of his fellow Dodgers, in addition to co-owners Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, also sharing his liberal stance and voicing criticism of Trump in the past.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers also reside in the Democrat-dominant state of California, making it ‘hard to imagine’ a team trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, per The Times.
‘All in all, it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers agreeing to a celebratory photo op with the president right now. Los Angeles is not just Dodger blue, but Democrat blue,’ the column read.
‘The president lost L.A. County by 33 percentage points. In his feuds with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Trump has threatened to withhold fire disaster funds without concessions. He seems to never miss an opportunity to take a swipe at the Golden State.
‘The World Champion Dodgers should stand up to, not next to, the president. If an overture from the White House comes, they can send a friendly note: Thanks, but no.’
However, many fans on social media lashed back at the suggestion, claiming the Dodgers should accept as it would be the ‘professional’ course of action.
‘Heck NO! What kind of softball question is that?,’ one social media furiously responded in response to the LA Times’ question over the Dodgers’ acceptance.
‘No they should be professionals and show up,’ another retaliated.
Many fans on social media lashed back at the suggestion, claiming the Dodgers should accept
‘No. White House visits should not be political. It is not called a presidential visit, but a Whitehouse visit. Championship teams visit the Whitehouse by whoever happens to be there at the time,’ a third answered.
Meanwhile, another insisted: ‘You always attend the White House when invited. You may not necessarily agree with the politics but you must respect the office of the President. It’s a huge honor and one the player and franchise will regret if they decline to attend.’
‘No, it’s a celebration of your performance. Shouldn’t matter whose the president,’ one said as another echoed: ‘Sports should transcend politics. Show some fuckin class and accept the invitation.’
The Dodgers did visit former president Joe Biden in 2021 following their 2020 World Series title.
Should they in fact accept an equivalent offer from Trump, the trip could take place early in the season when they face the Nationals in a three-game series from April 7 to 9.
Over the past month, there had been heavy speculation over a potential trip to the White House for the Philadelphia Eagles following their 40-22 Super Bowl rout of the Kansas City Chiefs.
It had been believed that the Eagles would turn down the traditional audience with the president at the White House as they did following their first franchise Super Bowl win in 2018.
But it later emerged that the team would be ‘honored’ to visit Trump’s White House with the president subsequently instructing his aides to send the invitation at the end of last month.
The Dodgers routed the New York Yankees in a 5-1 series win last fall to claim victory
Mookie Betts (pictured) skipped the customary visit in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox
The NHL’s Florida Panthers conducted their visit in February to toast their Stanley Cup
The NFL organization accepted the invitation earlier this week with the visit now slated to go ahead on April 28.
After their 2018 Super Bowl win, some Eagles players said they wouldn’t attend the White House celebration because of Trump’s criticism of football players who kneeled or raised their fists during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police brutality.
At a 2017 rally, Trump said that the protests were ‘hurting the game,’ and said NFL owners should fire players who did so.
Malcolm Jenkins, then of the Eagles, was among the NFL players at the time to protest, as he would raise his fist during the anthem. Rodney McLeod did the same.
Ultimately, the Eagles had decided on sending a small group of less than 10 players – as NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported at the time.
In response, Trump rescinded the invite to the team and held a patriotic celebration instead.
The NHL’s Florida Panthers conducted their visit to the White House without qualm in February to toast their Stanley Cup triumph.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, visited Biden before he left office in November. The New York Liberty, the 2024 WNBA champions, have not yet made a trip to the nation’s capital and it is unclear if they will do so with Trump now occupying the Oval Office.
