Washington Nationals Celebrate World Series at White House

(Bloomberg) -- The Washington Nationals visited the White House on Monday to celebrate the team’s first World Series title.

The team earned plaudits for uniting a divided city during its miraculous championship run, a peace that was momentarily broken when President Donald Trump was booed during Game 5 of the series at Nationals Park in Washington.

“America fell in love with Nats baseball,” Trump said at the event. “That’s all they wanted to talk about -- that and impeachment. I like Nats baseball much more.”

Presidents have regularly feted major sports champions for decades, and athletes have sometimes declined to attend for political reasons.

But the ceremonies have become more politicized under Trump over opposition to the president’s policies and comments about immigrants, minorities, and developing countries and territories.

Most of the Nationals’ stars -- including Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Juan Soto -- attended. At least one Nationals player, relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, said he would skip the visit. Several others, including star third baseman Anthony Rendon, were missing from the White House list of attendees but it wasn’t clear why.

“There’s a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country,” Doolittle told the Washington Post, adding that he and his wife, Eireann Dolan, have done work with immigrants and refugees.

“My wife and I stand for inclusion and acceptance, and we’ve done work with refugees,” he said.

The Nationals have several players from Latin America and the Caribbean, and manager Dave Martinez is of Puerto Rican descent. Team owners Ted and Mark Lerner have supported Democrats but have not publicly criticized Trump.

At the event, several players indicated support for Trump. Catcher Kurt Suzuki wore a “Make America Great Again” campaign hat. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, speaking at the event, thanked Trump for “for keeping everyone here safe, and our country, and continuing to make America the greatest country to live in the world.”

Before Trump and players spoke, a military band played the children’s song “Baby Shark,” which became the team’s rallying cry during the season. Hundreds of cheering fans, many wearing Nationals shirts and hats, joined administration officials and team employees at the ceremony.

Whether to invite teams, or accept an invitation to the White House, has become a trickier decision for both Trump and professional athletes.

The president decided to disinvite the National Basketball Association champion Golden State Warriors and Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 after many black players said they would not attend the ceremony.

Prominent black and Latino players from the Boston Red Sox‘s 2018 World Series-winning team rejected an invitation from Trump. Many cited his comments about immigrants and his handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.

Trump has also faced criticism for not inviting women’s sports teams that have won championships. The Baylor University women’s basketball team earlier this year became the first to have their own event official White House event. Like he did for the National Collegiate Athletic Association football champion Clemson Tigers, Trump served the Bears a buffet of fast food.

The Washington Mystics, who won the 2019 WNBA title, have not gone to the White House. The team put off a victory parade until next spring, citing players’ commitment to play internationally. A White House spokesman did not say if a formal invitation has been extended to the Mystics.

Trump backpedaled on his invitation to the U.S. women’s national soccer team amid a public clash with star player Megan Rapinoe. The team received a ticker-tape parade in New York City over the summer.

Other teams have opted for lower-key ceremonies. The 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals hockey team celebrated their victory with Trump and a small group of staff in the Oval Office.

The District of Columbia staged a Saturday parade and the team held a raucous, beer-soaked celebration at the Capitals’ game on Sunday night ahead of their White House visit.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Wendy Benjaminson

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