Mookie Betts becomes latest Dodgers player to skip White House visit, insists it’s ‘not political’
The Los Angeles Dodgers organization is the most successful current organization in the field and the most successful in finding ways to put themselves at the center of controversy.
That’s because they’re in a constant tug-of-war between keeping left-wing fans and sportswriters happy and remaining apolitical, since they’re a baseball team, of course. When they won the 2024 World Series, they faced intense criticism from left-wing sportswriters and some hard-line fans for accepting President Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the White House.
This continued immediately after Los Angeles won the 2025 title; Pro-immigration groups such as the National Day Labor Organizing Network have asked the Dodgers, a baseball team, to stand on the “right side of history.” Writers for the Los Angeles Times were equally ridiculous, saying: “As a result, it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers agreeing to a celebratory photo op with the president right now. Los Angeles isn’t just Dodger blue, it’s Democrat blue.”
OFFICIAL SAYS DODGERS WILL VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE AGAIN TO CELEBRATE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP
These criticisms were absurd, given that the traditional and ceremonial White House visit had nothing to do with politics. The Dodgers likely have players from across the political spectrum. He has fans from all over the political spectrum. Yes, Los Angeles County is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. It also has more Republicans numerically than any other county in the country. They also have a large national fan base, where fans in states like Arizona, Georgia and Texas differ ideologically from those in LA County. Don’t these fans matter?
President Donald Trump (center) holds a baseball jersey next to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (left) and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter (right) in the East Room of the White House on Monday, April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC, United States. (Washington Post via Jabin Botsford/Getty Images)
But it’s clear the team’s star players have already heard them, because shortstop Mookie Betts called out his teammates on July 23 when he said he wouldn’t be joining them.
California Post reported The 33-year-old actress, who said over the weekend that Betts would skip the ceremony, said it had nothing to do with politics and more about spending time with her new baby.
“I’m not trying to make a big deal out of it,” Betts said. “We just had a baby. You don’t have many days off. They’re coming [on the road trip]. And I just want to hang out with my family. This is a really nice thing. But people will turn it into a bunch of other things.”
He went on to tell Jack Harris that he knew his decision would be scrutinized no matter what.
“If I do [go]People will hate me. “If I don’t do this, people will hate me,” he added. “So instead of trying to make everyone happy, I will think about myself and my family.”
NATE BARGATZE FACES CANCELLATION FROM THE LEFT DUE TO ATTENDING THE UFC 250 WHITE HOUSE EVENT: ‘TEAM FASCISM’
He insisted the decision was not politically motivated and visited the White House following the team’s 2024 championship.
“People will try to drag me into politics just because I am who I am. These are the cards I have been dealt,” he said. “So that’s what it is.”
President Donald Trump greets player Mookie Betts during a ceremony honoring the Major League Baseball 2024 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Herein lies the problem with turning these visits into a political statement, as sportswriters do. Betts may have had a legitimate reason to skip the visit; It is a long and arduous season and there are very few free days. A tour of the White House takes most of the day and requires formal attire. He left last season too. But at the same time, the All-Star break begins Monday, giving Betts three days off before traveling to New York to play the Yankees starting Friday night.
So if there’s ever a time during the season when it makes sense to skip a day off and head to the White House, it’s the week after the All-Star break. Still, the fact that Betts has been to the White House several times before makes the trip less appealing.
CLICK HERE TO GET MORE SPORTS NEWS ON FOXNEWS.COM
Kike Hernandez also said he won’t be visiting, even though he’s scheduled to be on a rehab assignment while the big league team is on the East Coast. Still, he told reporters he probably wouldn’t go there to protest the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration law.
All of this debate and disagreement could be avoided if so-called impartial sportswriters would stop imposing their ideology in every possible corner. They would never make a political statement about this ceremony with a Democratic Party politician in office because, to them, any policy enacted by a Democrat is reasonable, justified, and obvious common sense. No matter how absurd this view may be to those on the right.
Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs in a pop-up in the sixth inning of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, July 10, 2026 in Los Angeles. (William Liang/AP)
OUTKICK NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK TO DOWNLOAD
As coach Dave Roberts said, you should hope to get that invite every season because it means your team wins the championship. And these are athletes and coaches, not politicians. Especially for Hernandez, whose pro-illegal immigration stance doesn’t make him a good person, no matter how much he wants it to be.
