Are The Dodgers Tone Deaf? White House Visit Is An Insult To Their Fans

Surely they perceive nan chants. They must perceive nan awesome chants.

“Let’s go, Doyers! Let’s go, Doyers!”

Surely they spot nan faces? They can’t miss nan gloriously divers faces.

All shades, each colors, 4 cardinal faces surrounding them pinch resounding support and unrequited love.

The Dodgers do cognize they play successful Los Angeles, right?

Then why successful nan hellhole do they insist connected embracing nan personification trying to tear this metropolis apart?

This is an aged issue, it’s been written before, it’s been debated advertisement nauseam, but it’s happening again and remains arsenic sickening arsenic ever.

The Dodgers are going to observe their 2025 World Series title pinch President Trump astatine nan White House connected July 23, it was confirmed Thursday.

Just for illustration past season.

Seriously.

“President Trump is excited to invited nan Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to nan White House to observe their World Series championship!” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said successful a connection to The Times.

“Back” to nan White House.

How embarrassing.

The 2017 NBA champion Golden State Warriors wouldn’t go. The 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles wouldn’t go. The 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder wouldn’t go.

And now this group of Dodgers is going twice?

Their first sojourn past outpouring was bad enough, pinch Trump noting, “That is simply a very good-looking group of people,” while nan Dodgers stood astir him successful slack-faced awe.

Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter smiles while listing to President Trump speak during nan Dodgers’ title sojourn to nan White House successful April 2025.

(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Some, including Dodgers officials, based on this was a sojourn astir tradition, not politics. Teams person been visiting nan White House since President Andrew Johnson hosted 2 amateur shot clubs successful 1865. The Dodgers said they were conscionable abiding by this once-revered sports custom. They said they were showing respect for this country’s highest office, not needfully nan man inhabiting it.

Understood. But what happened 2 months aft that first sojourn altered moreover that flimsy spot of logic, arsenic nan man inhabiting nan agency rained panic connected Los Angeles pinch nan midsummer ICE raids that changed nan lives of thousands.

Many impacted were nan Dodgers fans who filled nan stadium each nighttime for nan squad pinch arguably nan largest migrant instrumentality guidelines successful sports. Some moreover were wearing Dodgers caps and jerseys erstwhile they were swept up and hauled away.

While different pro sports teams successful municipality instantly condemned nan raids, nan Dodgers said thing until yet announcing and fulfilling a $1.1-million aid to organization organizations to support families impacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At nan time, only 1 Dodger said retired publicly, pinch Kiké Hernández penning connected Instagram, “Los Angeles and Dodger fans person welcomed me, supported maine and shown maine thing but kindness and love. This is my 2nd home. And I cannot guidelines to spot our organization being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL group merit to beryllium treated pinch respect, dignity and quality rights.”

A twelvemonth later, Hernández is still connected nan Dodgers, he has overmuch clubhouse credibility, and yet they’re still going back? Were they not listening?

The roster is filled pinch different levelheaded veterans who surely recognize that by serving arsenic a inexpensive Trump photo-op, they are honoring a man whose policies person ravaged their fans much than immoderate different group successful America, and yet they’re still going back?

An statement cannot boast of sharing a azygous pinch Jackie Robinson while sharing a very nationalist day pinch President Trump. That doesn’t work.

Kiké Hernández was nan only Dodger who said retired publically past year.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

An statement that admirably fought backmost against nan wishes of a blimpish clubhouse to pioneer Pride Night cannot beryllium nan aforesaid statement that publically normalizes nan morality of President Trump. That doesn’t compute.

Can’t anyone connected Vin Scully Avenue spot nan large image here?

Maybe Jose Madera, head of nan Pasadena Community Job Center, tin show them.

Madera, a die-hard Dodgers fan, hasn’t attended a crippled since past summer’s ICE raids because he’s mislaid religion successful nan Dodgers’ relationship pinch nan Los Angeles community.

He says this latest news of a 2nd White House sojourn only frays that relationship further.

“It’s very disappointing to perceive that our squad is going to shingle nan manus of a personification who has sent truthful overmuch dislike and panic into our community,” he said. “Thousands of families successful our metropolis unrecorded successful fearfulness ... we can’t guidelines for what’s going on.”

Madera said nan Dodgers request to retrieve who they are.

“The Dodgers bring truthful overmuch joyousness to our community, but a ample portion of their instrumentality guidelines is nan migrant community, and they request to guidelines pinch us,” he said. “It’s very disappointing that they’re not, and we request to clasp them accountable.”

It’s not excessively late. The Dodgers still person clip to alteration their minds and do nan correct thing. They still person clip to admit that this is not astir eschewing contented aliases succumbing to authorities aliases thing but communal quality decency.

The president has treated nan Dodgers fans pinch a sloppy disregard for their basal humanity, and nan Dodgers request to fto him cognize this is not OK.

“They still person a chance to decline,” Madera said. “We’re each hoping they do.”

Yeah, sure, successful 2 weeks they could strut into nan astir celebrated residence successful America arsenic two-time defending champions.

But they would time off it arsenic two-time losers.