Another Dodgers World Series Champion Won't Visit the White House

When the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the White House on July 23, at least one active player will not.

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts told the California Post that he most likely will spend the day with his family instead.

“If I do [go], people are gonna hate me. If I don’t, people are gonna hate me,” he told the Post's Jack Harris. “So instead of trying to make everyone else happy, I’m gonna think about myself and my family.”

Betts said his thinking was not politically motivated, but acknowledged “people are gonna try to drag me into politics, just because I am who I am.”

The Dodgers visited the White House in April 2025 after accepting the invitation they received after winning the 2024 World Series. After winning the World Series again in November 2025, it was not revealed until this week if or when the Dodgers would return to D.C.

Thursday, the Dodgers confirmed they planned to visit the White House on an off-day in between their three-game series in Philadelphia and New York.

Dodgers statement:

“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. We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships.”
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) July 9, 2026

“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. “We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships.”

Betts is not alone in his indifference.

Utlility player Kiké Hernández hinted Thursday that he would not visit the White House in a reply to a comment on his Instagram account. He deleted his words soon after.

Later, however, Hernández confirmed he would be on a rehab assignment and "probably wouldn’t have gone" to the White House even if he was not away from the team.

Betts opted out of the Boston Red Sox's champions visit in 2019. He knelt during the U.S. national anthem amid the George Floyd protests in 2020. But he visited the White House along with the other Dodgers players in 2021 and 2025.

“I’m not trying to make this a whole big deal,” Betts told Harris. “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.”

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X/Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google