LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Dodgers will visit the White House Thursday to be honored for winning the 2025 World Series, despite criticism from some fans and immigrant-rights advocates over the appearance.
The Dodgers will make the visit during an off-day between series in Philadelphia and New York.
The appearance comes after demonstrators gathered outside Dodger Stadium in March, criticizing the club’s response to federal immigration raids in the Los Angeles area and urging the team to skip the White House visit.
“As was the case one year ago, the Dodgers’ upcoming visits to the White House and Capitol Hill follow the longtime tradition of visits by other World Series champions,” the team said in a statement earlier this month. “We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships.”
Manager Dave Roberts said he welcomed the invitation.
“Honestly, like I’ve always said – my company line, my personal line – is I hope that we get this invitation every year, because that’s the goal, to win a championship, to get this invitation to the White House,” Roberts said.
Not every player is expected to attend. Shortstop Mookie Betts said earlier this month he would likely skip the visit to spend the off day with his family following the recent birth of his third child, adding that his decision was not politically motivated.
“I’m not trying to make this a whole big deal,” Betts said. “We just had a baby. You don’t get many days off. They’re coming [on the road trip]. And just want to hang out with the fam. That’s really kind of it. But people are gonna make it a whole bunch of other stuff.”
Betts attended the Dodgers’ White House visit following the 2024 World Series championship after previously declining to attend a White House celebration with the Boston Red Sox after their 2018 title.
Utility player Kiké Hernández, who is on the injured list with a strained left oblique, has also said he will miss the visit because he is beginning a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Hernández added that he probably would not have attended even if he had been active.
Hernández has been among the team’s most outspoken players on immigration issues, saying last summer he could not stand “to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart.”
Hernández attended last year’s White House visit, months before immigration enforcement operations in LA prompted demonstrations outside Dodger Stadium and calls for the team to take a stronger public stance.
Following the protests, the Dodgers pledged $1.1 million to groups assisting immigrant families and said Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not be permitted to stage operations at the stadium.
The Dodgers were originally scheduled to visit the White House in early April during a series in Washington, D.C., but the stop was postponed because of scheduling.
The team is scheduled to resume its road trip Friday against the New York Mets.