The Dodgers are the latest sports team to accept an invite to President Donald Trump’s White House, the franchise announced on Tuesday.
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day confirmed a day prior that his national champion- Buckeyes would be visiting Washington on April 14, and the Eagles will visit President Trump’s White House two weeks after that.
Following their World Series win over the Yankees last fall, the Dodgers will also join that list, as they announced they’d be making the trip on April 7 while they’re in DC to play the Nationals.
In a post to social media, the team added that unspecified members of the squad would visit Capitol Hill the following day.
In a conversation with reporters after the announcement, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ‘it wasn’t a formal conversation that we had as a ballclub.
‘It’s certainly a huge honor to get the invitation to the White House,’ he continued, via ESPN. ‘It allows us to celebrate our 2024 championship. To my understanding, every World Series champion gets that honor, so it’s a great honor for all of us.’
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers will visit President Donald Trump on April 7
Trump will also host the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Eagles this spring at the White House
The Dodgers previously visited the White House five years ago during former President Joe Biden’s time in office, following the team’s championship during the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
Roberts previously indicated in a 2019 interview with the LA Times that he would turn down the chance to visit the Trump White House if his team had won the World Series that season.
He struck a different tone on Tuesday, saying, ‘I respect the position. It’s the highest office in our country, certainly in the world, so, looking forward to it.’
The Dodgers’ commitment to visit Trump came after a massive controversy involving the late, great Brooklyn Dodgers player Jackie Robinson.
Earlier this month, a Department of Defense webpage describing Robinson’s military service was temporarily taken down and the letters ‘dei’ were also automatically added to the URL. The webpage was later restored.
The page on Robinson includes biographical information about his Army service during World War II, which occurred prior to his famously breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Yankees 7-6 to win the 2024 World Series
In his first week back in office, President Trump issued a series of executive orders to restrict DEI initiatives in the US after branding them a form of ‘discrimination’.
DEI laws and measures had been under attack for years by Republicans who believe they threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities of white people, specifically white men.
‘I think I’m happy that the page went back up,’ Roberts said after being informed by a reporter about the Robinson webpage situation. ‘I have my strong opinions on DEI and all that stuff, but that’s another scrum.’
The Dodgers beat the Angels 4-1 in an exhibition game on Tuesday.
They began their regular season earlier this month with two games against the Cubs in Japan, which both resulted in Dodgers wins.
