Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts is unlikely to travel with the team when the defending World Series winners visit President Donald Trump at the White House on July 23.
The Dodgers didn’t visit the White House during their series against the Washington Nationals earlier this season. They plan to visit the White House during an off day between their road series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets.
However, Betts said to The California Post on Saturday that he plans to skip the visit and spend time with his family instead.
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“If I do [go], people are gonna hate me. If I don’t, people are gonna hate me,” Betts said. “So instead of trying to make everyone else happy, I’m gonna think about myself and my family.”
Betts dismissed the notion that his decision was politically motivated.
“People are gonna try to drag me into politics, just because I am who I am.That’s just the cards I’m dealt,” he said. “So it is what it is.”
The eight-time All-Star was among the Boston Red Sox players to not visit the White House during President Trump’s first term after their World Series win in 2019.
Dodgers utility star Kike Hernandez unlikely to make White House trip after Mookie Betts’ decision
Mookie Betts, who returned to action after a lengthy injury layoff, explained that he is skipping the White House visit because he just welcomed a third child with his wife.
“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.”
Apart from Betts, Dodgers utility star Kiké Hernández also plans to skip the White House visit as he will be on a rehab assignment amid his recovery from a left oblique strain.
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash