The Dodgers Must Refuse An Invitation To The White House
"Now is the time for the team to take a moral stand," writes Mathew Foresta, publisher of Better Graces and Liberations.
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Like millions of my fellow Dodgers fans I was thrilled earlier this month when we took home our second World Series championship in two years. It meant a lot to me and the people of Los Angeles. 2025 has been a particularly bad year for us having been battered by both fires and state sanctioned violence. It’s the later, the ICE raids, the crackdowns on protesters, the suppression of free speech, the deployment of the military to our city, why the Dodgers now have to change course and stand in solidarity with the city that has loyally backed them for decades.
Up to 40 percent of the fan base is Latin American. Thus last year’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House, to shake hands and present the Trump with a jersey, was a particularly grave betrayal. His first administration had already locked children in cages, operated concentration camps, and inspired a violent attack on the Capitol. That alone should have been enough to reject any association with this rogue, authoritarian regime, but the situation has only grown worse.
Now he has unleashed soldiers on our streets. They sweep through our parks and streets like the oppressive occupiers they are. Masked goons with badges are tearing apart families, kidnapping our neighbors, and terrorizing our communities. All the while Trump has been erasing Transgender people from public life, arresting activists for the solely for their opposition to genocide, and dragging us down the path of environmental catastrophe. Untold thousands of us, myself included, have taken to the streets. When you’re at these protests it’s not at all odd to see Dodgers hats and shirts. The LA symbol is iconic. They are part of the social fabric of this city, yet their response has been disappointing.
There were bright spots. Kiké Hernández’s statement in support of immigrants was appreciated as was the team’s june refusal to let immigration enforcement officers use stadium parking lots. Their pledge of a million dollars to those effected by ICE raids was a step in the right direction. It could have been more, but at least they did something unlike the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals. Any praise of the organization must be tempered by the knowledge that this came achingly slow and after huge public criticism. They dragged their feet, and now immigration agents have been spotted in a parking lot co-owned by the team, and there has been little said since the summer.
Even worse are the team’s financial entanglements. They have continued their relationship with Phillips-66, a prominent petrochemical company and owner 76 gas stations. The team continues to display a huge 76 over the scoreboard despite the fact our city was devastated by climate exacerbated wildfires this year. Owner Mark Walter’s hedge fund, Guggenheim Partners, is invested in GEO Group, a private prison operator who run ICE detention facilities.
Despite all of this it is not to late for them to change course. Fans are circulating petitions to try and get the team to do the right thing. Now is the time for the team to take a moral stand. They must refuse any invitation to the White House and be explicit in their rejection of this regime. They should likewise refuse to associate in any way with this regime, deny ICE and other oppressive agencies the use of any of their property, and end all the aforementioned, execrable financial dealings.
This is a legendary team. Future hall of famers, all time greats like Shohei Ohani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are a part of the squad. The players have come from across the globe to play here, and this has garnered a worldwide fan base. This gives them something few of us have, a platform. People will pay attention to their words and actions. This puts them in a unique position to help people in this hour of dire need. They could set an example for others to follow and deny this regime a propaganda coup. It would lift the spirits of those who are hurting and oppressed. They may fear financial or legal retaliation. It wouldn’t be above this crooked administration to attack the immigration status of star athletes. That can’t be an excuse for a lack of courage.
The players and even more so the Dodgers Organization have vast financial resources. Far beyond what a normal immigrant could muster. This gives them much greater capacity to fight back. Cowardice here would only serve to sportswash the regime and sully the legacies of many amazing competitors. That LA on their hat has to mean something. It can’t be the burden of the poor to face this while the wealthy sit idly by. Those facing batons and rubber bullets deserve solidarity.
The Dodgers have had many great players over the years, but none of them was greater or more important than Jackie Robinson. He was an amazing ball player, but more importantly he was an amazing human being. Breaking the racial barrier in baseball, at a time when Jim Crow was still the law of the land, profoundly affected this country for the better. He helped pave the way for scores of athletes who came later, served as an inspiration to millions, and aided the Civil Rights Movement.
Now is the time for the boys in blue to follow in that fine tradition.
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Thanks to everyone for reading and to Sports Politika for publishing me.