Los Angeles Dodgers star Kike Hernandez explained why he will not be present when the team visits the White House to meet with him President Trump later this month.
Hernández, 34, will complete a minor league rehab assignment when the Dodgers travel to Washington, D.C., on July 23 to celebrate their World Series title. “It will be difficult to be in two cities at the same time,” Hernández told reporters on Friday, July 10.
He added: “If I had been active I probably wouldn’t have gone anyway.”
When asked for a reason, Hernández said, “I would rather take a day off than participate in team activities.”
Los Angeles Dodgers star Kike Hernández admitted that even high-profile professional athletes find it harder to stay in shape as they get older – especially when it comes to late-night snacking. Hernández, 34, is currently in the midst of his 12th Major League Baseball season, his ninth overall with the Dodgers. Since then (…)
Dodgers star Mookie Betts has also said he will not attend the White House celebrations, but stressed that it was not a political decision.
“I’m not trying to make a big deal about it,” Betts, 33, said California Post Office in a story published Saturday, July 11. “We just had a baby. You don’t have a lot of days off. They come (on the road trip). And they just want to hang out with the family. That’s really one thing. But people will turn it into a whole bunch of other things.”
He added: “If I do (leave), people will hate me. If I don’t, people will hate me. So instead of trying to make everyone else happy, I’m going to think about myself and my family.”
Betts and his wife, BriannaThey share three children: daughters Kynlee7, and Khari3 months and son And3.
San Francisco 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk had a sense of humor when asked what comes with more pressure: teeing off at the world’s biggest celebrity golf tournament or the infamous NDA he signed to attend Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s wedding. “That’s a good, honest question,” Juszczyk, 35, told Us exclusively (…)
The Dodgers released a statement July 9 about the visit to the White House, which came a year after the team — including Hernández and Betts — met with the 80-year-old Trump to celebrate their 2024 World Series title.
“As was the case a year ago, the Dodgers’ upcoming visits to the White House and Capitol Hill follow the longstanding tradition of visits by other World Series champions,” the franchise said. “We are pleased to receive these honors in recognition of our back-to-back championships.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the meeting “took a long time for both sides to come together.”
“Honestly, as I’ve always said, my company line, my personal line, is that I hope we get this invitation every year,” Roberts, 54, told reporters after the visit was confirmed. “Because that’s the goal, to win a championship, to get that invitation to the White House. I’m not a politician and I’m doing something that teams have been doing for decades. That’s my point of view, really. I’m a baseball coach. That’s what I do.”
