The Los Angeles Dodgers, Kim Hye-sung’s team and the 2025 World Series winner, will visit the White House despite public opposition.
The “California Post” quoted President Donald Trump’s administration official as saying on the 5th (Korea Standard Time) that the Dodgers’ squad is scheduled to visit the White House.
Although the specific schedule for the visit has not yet been confirmed, the media explained that the Dodgers club and White House officials are communicating and preparing for the visit.
사진 확대 The Dodgers visited the White House as the winner of last year’s 2024 World Series. 사진=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
Their visit to the White House is likely to proceed in line with Washington, D.C., or an expedition to neighboring cities. The Dodgers will play three consecutive away games against Washington from the 4th to the 6th after a one-day break on the 3rd.
In this regard, President Stan Kasten declined to comment when asked by local media such as the “LA Times” over the weekend, saying, “I have no news to tell you.”
The Dodgers also visited the White House as a World Series winner when they won the 2020 and 2024 World Series.
It is a long tradition for major U.S. professional sports winners, including Major League Baseball, to visit the White House.
Not everyone is on board with this. In the past, personal reasons dominated. Michael Jordan didn’t go to the White House because he wanted to ‘play golf’ after winning his first NBA championship.
In the first term of President Donald Trump’s presidency, it turned out to be a political issue. NBA champions have refused to visit the White House since the 2016-17 NBA champions Golden State Warriors canceled their visit to the White House.
The 2018 Super Bowl winner Philadelphia Eagles also failed to visit because the team refused to participate.
In some cases, even if the team visited, the individual refused to do so. In 2019, manager Alex Cora, who led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series championship in the previous season, refused to visit the White House. In November 2019, the Washington Nationals visited the White House to commemorate the World Series victory, but left-hander Sean Doolittle was absent.
There were cases in which Trump refused to visit during the second term of his administration. In April last year, 12 Philadelphia Eagles players refused to visit the White House.
Los Angeles, home to the Dodgers, is a city with a high percentage of immigrants and a strong Democratic Party support. Last year, the Trump administration forcibly cracked down on illegal immigrants by sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to such LA, sending the entire city into chaos.
사진 확대 The Dodgers won the World Series for the second year in a row. 사진=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
For this reason, when the Dodgers visited the White House, not a few fans expressed their reluctance to do so. However, the Dodgers are planning to push ahead with their visit to the White House in 2026.
The Dodgers were previously criticized by fans for keeping quiet when the city of Los Angeles was plagued by ICE’s excessive crackdown and protests against it.
They belatedly announced $1 million in financial support for immigrant families affected by the situation, but were later criticized when it was revealed that the Dodgers owner had invested in a company with ICE detention facilities.
The team does not seem to refuse to visit the White House much. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “I’m going to the White House. I will not make political statements while acting by tradition. Because I’m not a politician.”
Outfielder Mookie Betts refused to visit the White House with Cora as a Boston player in 2019, but visited the White House with the Dodgers squad last year. “No matter what I say or what I do, people will accept it politically,” he said at the time. However, I would like to inform you that this is definitely not the intention. This is related to the Dodgers’ achievements last year,” he said.
[KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Reporter]