Mookie Betts won his second World Series in October, but this weekend will mark his first time commemorating a World Series victory with President Donald Trump.
Betts won a title with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, the same year he was named American League MVP.
However, he opted to skip the team’s celebration at the White House in 2019.
That will not be the case this year.
“This is not about me; I don’t want anything to be about me. This is about the Dodgers. Because these boys were there for me,” Betts said, via the L.A. Times.
Betts said he regretted not making the trip in 2019, which manager Alex Cora and pitcher David Price also skipped, saying he felt he was a distraction.
“No matter what I say or what I do, people are gonna take it as political. But that’s definitely not what it is. This is about what the Dodgers were able to accomplish last year,” he said.
Cora recently admitted he skipped out on meeting Trump because he wanted to prioritize his home country of Puerto Rico. When the Red Sox visited the White House in May 2019, Puerto Rico was still recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Cora wasn’t satisfied with the federal government’s response.
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Other Dodgers had been asked about their status for the trip, but Betts’ decision was understandably top of mind.
“It is what it is. It comes with the territory, being Black in America in a situation like this. It’s a tough spot to be in,” he said. “No matter what I choose, somebody is gonna be pissed. Somebody is gonna have their own opinion. But, again, this is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about the Dodgers. It’s about my loyalty to these boys, this clubhouse. And that’s all it is for me.”
The Dodgers defeated Trump’s hometown New York Yankees in five games last year.
The Philadelphia Eagles will visit the White House later this month, and the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers visited earlier this year.
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