Just say no. Dodgers players should decline White House visit

During their recent magical run to the World Series, the champion Dodgers had many heroes, but one constant.

Whenever they needed a leader, they found one.

No matter how dire the circumstances, whenever they needed a hero, someone stepped up.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto won a match with zero days of rest. Will Smith won a game with one hand.

Freddie Freeman was a savior in the 18th inning on one leg. Kiké Hernández was a savior in the ninth inning with a bad elbow.

Everywhere you looked, there was a Dodgers veteran willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team.

This must happen again.

This must happen now.

A player must spearhead a decision that won’t be made by the big corporations that run this team, a decision that will bypass biased chatter and directly connect with their many beleaguered fans, a decision that only a player can make.

Following the White House’s confirmation Thursday that the Dodgers will visit the traditional champions this spring, someone needs to send a clear message to President Donald Trump.

“No.”

Federal immigration agents arrive at Gate E of Dodger Stadium on June 19. Sporadic immigration raids continue to rock Southern California.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

No, they won’t go.

No, they will not support the ICE raids that take place daily right outside their clubhouse doors.

No, they will not openly support an administration that has declared war on its fans.

No, after enjoying the adulation of four million diverse neighbors each summer, players will not turn their backs on these people while the government continues to arrest them despite having no criminal history.

This is not about asking professional athletes to become politicians. It’s about asking them to be people.

Some will argue that players shouldn’t be involved, that it’s a management decision far above the pay grade of an average lefty or slugger. But when their backyard becomes a battlefield, these players must fight back, and that time has come.

Dodger management will always leave any tough choices like this up to the players. Thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, players are essentially partners in shouldering this responsibility.

No matter what owner Mark Walter says, if players don’t want to visit the White House, they won’t go.

It doesn’t matter who shouts the loudest, whether it’s conservatives or liberals, the collective voice of the players is the only one that matters.

So when spring training starts next week, I hope there will be a hero.

After being showered with numerous encores from an adoring fan base, it’s time for players to return the favor.

How about a standing ovation for the courageous law-abiding immigrant family of four cheering you on from the left pavilion, even though they know they could be arrested and deported at any moment?

How about a “Let’s Go Dodgers” chant for the longtime residents without criminal records who spent last October huddled around their televisions, clinging to your victories as reason for hope?

How would you like to be there for so many people who have been there for you?

A protester wearing a Mookie Betts jersey and holding sewn together Mexican and American flags protests ICE outside the game at Dodger Stadium on June 21.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

That was an issue last year, when former Times columnist Dylan Hernández urged the Dodgers to cancel their first visit to the White House.

“It’s something we discussed with all the players, who all wanted to go,” team president Stan Kasten told Hernández. “Remember, everyone here grew up wanting to be a world champion and all that goes with it, and that comes with a champagne toast, dressing-room mischief, a parade, rings, an invitation to the White House. That’s what they all come to associate with being world champions. Everyone wanted to go, and that’s what we did.”

So they left, all except Freddie Freeman, who was injured. The event even featured Mookie Betts, who previously declined a visit when he was with the Boston Red Sox.

Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically in light of ICE raids that intensified midway through the season.

It’s no longer just about berating a president. This is a fight against a system that has historically terrorized the streets of Southern California and most recently in Minneapolis resulted in the deaths of two American citizens at the hands of agents of the American government.

The Dodgers club executives surely see it. They surely feel it.

They cannot be so isolated as not to notice protests on city streets that resemble those near Chávez Ravine. They can’t be so sheltered as to not hear the outrage from people who look like their biggest fans.

Players can’t hide from it. Players have to deal with this.

And no, it’s not even up to manager Dave Roberts, who told the Times’ Bill Shaikin last week that he supports the visit.

“I was raised – by a man who served our country for 30 years – to respect the highest office of our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who’s in the office, I’m going to the White House.”

Once again, it’s not just about Trump anymore. These are Tom Homan, Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, and all the other immigration officials who have caused so much unfounded damage.

Baseball clubs have traditionally leaned heavily to the right.

No one is asking anyone to deny their beliefs. It is no longer about ideology, but about defending those who are wrongly arrested, unjustly harassed or constantly frightened at home.

Dodger Stadium is one of those homes, and those who live there permanently must do their best to provide comfort and safety to those who do not live there.

Veteran Dodgers executives, this is your time.

Their visit to the White House would likely take place during the team’s trip to face the Washington Nationals in the first week of April. We hope that before the road trip, the safe and well-paid Dodgers veterans will make the kids on the team understand what it means to be a Dodger and how turning down a visit to the White House would be the right thing for Jackie Robinson to do.

Sending a championship team to the White House is a baseball tradition. Sending a message about equality, fairness and freedom is a Dodgers tradition.

Someone wearing a Dodgers uniform needs to uphold this tradition.

Person?