Dodgers accept White House invite, call visit 'a great honor' - ESPN

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Dodgers announced they will accept an invitation to the White House to celebrate their World Series title.

The team will make the trip on April 7, a Monday, before the first of a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals. Members of the Dodgers will also visit Capitol Hill on April 8, the team announced.

«It wasn't a formal conversation that we had as a ballclub,» Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday's exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels. «It's certainly a huge honor to get the invitation to the White House. It allows us to celebrate our 2024 championship. To my understanding, every World Series champion gets that honor, so it's a great honor for all of us.»

The Dodgers' White House visit is especially notable in the wake of a controversy surrounding a story highlighting Jackie Robinson's military service that was temporarily deleted from the Department of Defense's website last week as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion through a «digital content refresh.»

Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, then broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. A statue in his honor graces Dodger Stadium's center-field plaza. While it does not make any references to DEI, the story on Robinson's service was among a swath scrubbed from government websites in recent days.

Roberts, who has frequently spoken about the importance of major league teams deploying more diverse coaching and front-office staffs, said he was unaware of what took place with the Robinson story. After being informed by a reporter, he said: «I