Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts is showered with sunflower seeds after hitting a two-run dwelling run towards the Atlanta Braves throughout the sixth inning of a baseball recreation Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Kevork Djansezian/AP
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Kevork Djansezian/AP
The L.A. Dodgers are headed to the White Home Monday for a celebration of their World Sequence triumph, and for some gamers it has been a tough determination. Shortstop Mookie Betts introduced Friday that he would attend, however he mentioned it was particularly difficult for him.
“Being Black in America in a scenario like this, it is a powerful spot to be in,” he mentioned.
Betts declined to go to the White Home throughout President Trump’s first time period in 2019, when Betts was with the Boston Crimson Sox. On Friday, he mentioned he regretted that, although he was considered one of a number of gamers who boycotted the White Home that yr.
“It doesn’t matter what I select, any individual goes to be pissed. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about politics. That is concerning the Dodgers and my loyalty to those boys within the clubhouse.”
The staff’s deliberate go to has roiled some followers who take difficulty with the Trump administration. L.A. Instances sports activities columnist Dylan Hernández wrote {that a} journey to the White Home would go towards all the things the Dodgers stand for.
“The Dodgers attempt to exit of their option to remind you that they’re greater than only a baseball staff, that they’re a part of American historical past, that they’re an agent of social change,” Hernández mentioned. “To at the present time the Dodgers attempt to wrap themselves within the flag of Jackie Robinson.”
Robinson broke baseball’s shade barrier when he joined the Dodgers in 1947. The Division of Protection final month briefly took down a web page spotlighting Robinson’s navy service amid a push to take away references to range, fairness and inclusion and end such policies within the navy.
Dodger fan Melissa Morales needs the staff to skip the White Home go to over Trump’s immigration crackdowns.
“I do not suppose they need to go,” she mentioned carrying her Dodger jacket, “particularly since a number of the followers are Latino.”
When the Dodgers received the sequence throughout the 2020 season, lower brief by Covid, the staff made the White Home journey the next yr for a celebration hosted by former President Joe Biden. Pitcher Blake Treinen, a vocal Trump supporter, sat out the White Home festivities with the staff that yr. He is wanting ahead to Monday’s go to.
“I am pumped. The best president of my lifetime,” Treinen mentioned of Trump. “Excited to satisfy him, shake his hand, thank him for what he’s doing.”
As for anybody who would possibly determine to not participate this yr, he mentioned “they’ll select what they need to do. For me, I am excited to go.”
It is a no-brainer for Dodgers fan Patrick Tee that the staff ought to be there.
“All people goes once they win,” he mentioned. “Why would not they go?”
Los Angeles supervisor Dave Roberts was reluctant to get caught up within the controversy, as he confronted questions from reporters.
“I am not going to take a seat up right here and make it political,” he mentioned after Wednesday evening’s recreation at Dodger Stadium. “I am excited to acknowledge the 2024 World Sequence champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
The Dodgers clinched a Wednesday win towards the Atlanta Braves on a Shohei Ohtani walk-off dwelling run, bringing them to 8-0. They lastly misplaced their first recreation Friday evening towards the Philadelphia Phillies.
Following Monday’s White Home go to, the Dodgers are set to kick off a season opener towards the Washington Nationals.
