The Boston Red Sox have accepted an invitation to the White House. A date has not yet been set, but Puerto Rican manager Alex Cora will be among the guests.
“I will use my platform the right way,” Cora said. “I’m not gonna expose anyone. In the end, I represent four million people at home.”
In September, Cora had criticized US President Donald Trump’s handling of the situation in Puerto Rico following the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Trump had questioned the number of deaths in Puerto Rico, which Cora described as “disrespectful.
The Red Sox also announced that this would not be a mandatory visit for the players – it would be up to them. “As in the past, it’s an invitation. It’s not a court special,” said Sam Kennedy, president of the Red Sox.
Since Trump took office, the obligatory visit to the White House has no longer been a matter of course for champions in the big US professional leagues. The Golden State Warriors declined the invitation after their title, while they were demonstratively unloaded in 2018. The visit of the Philadelphia Eagles was cancelled at short notice after their Super Bowl triumph at the beginning of the year because only a handful of players wanted to participate.
This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.