Trump hosts Boston Red Sox at White House as some players skip in protest
President Trump welcomed the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox to the White House Thursday to recognize their victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the event was clouded by the absence of most of the team's Latino and African American players, who decided to skip the event over disagreements with the president's politics.
The president congratulated the team on its World Series triumph during a ceremony on the South Lawn, where he was presented with a personalized jersey.
"Over the course of the 2018 season, the Red Sox were — frankly, they were unstoppable," Mr. Trump said. "The 2018 Red Sox never game up and never backed down. You always played like champions."
Pitcher Chris Sale and J.D. Martinez thanked the president for welcoming the team.
Among those who did not attend the traditional White House ceremony are team manager Alex Cora, outfielder Mookie Betts, pitcher David Price, catcher Christian Vazquez and other top players on the roster.
Cora, a native of Puerto Rico, sat out Thursday's events in protest against Mr. Trump's treatment of the island in the wake of a pair of devastating hurricanes. The president strongly opposes additional disaster aid for Puerto Rico and has repeatedly brushed off criticism about his administration's handling of recovery efforts after hurricanes María and Irma made landfall in 2017.
At a campaign rally in the Florida Panhandle Wednesday night, Mr. Trump slammed Democrats in Congress for wanting to give the U.S. territory "more and more" in federal funding. "They complain, they want more money," the president said, referring to Puerto Rico's government.
The White House mistakenly referred to the team as the Boston Red "Socks" in its public schedule Thursday, causing a brief round of derision on social media.
According to MassLive, Cora told reporters after the Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night, "There has been a lot of talk about what's going on tomorrow and the clubhouse and being divided and race and politics. Those kids went out there and they played their heart out. We know who are in the clubhouse. I know a lot of people doubt that, but like we did last year, we cancel the noise."
"There's a group that is going home," he added. "There's a group that is going to the White House. On Friday, we get back and we get back to playing baseball."
The Red Sox defeated the Dodgers after five grueling games last year, securing their fourth World Series win.
Since Mr. Trump took office, several title-winning players and teams have skipped the traditional White House visit, citing what they believe is the president's divisive politics — especially when it comes to race. The University of Virginia men's basketball team recently declined a White House invitation, and the president publicly rescinded invitations to the NBA's Golden State Warriors and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles last year after several African American players said they would skip the ceremony.