Washington National’s Pitcher Sean Doolittle Refuses To Visit The White House After World Series Win

WAMU has more details on the team visit, which is reported to be on Monday:

Days after clinching their first World Series title, the Washington Nationals will visit President Trump at the White House on Monday.

The ceremony, first reported by The Washington Post, will take place at 1:15 p.m. on the South Lawn.

Presidents have customarily celebrated sports champions at the White House since the Reagan administration. Still, the custom has become politically charged in the Trump era as some teams and players have declined the president’s invitation to celebrate their win — or have not been invited at all. Earlier today, Relief Pitcher Sean Doolittle said he does not plan on attending the White House visit, according to The Post. The Washington Mystics, who won the WNBA championship last month, have not been invited to the White House, but Trump hosted the Washington Capitals in March after the team won the Stanley Cup last year.

Trump has celebrated two World Series champions during his tenure. The Houston Astros visited the White House in 2017 after winning the World Series; the Nats defeated the Astros on Wednesday in a dramatic Game 7 conclusion that earned Washington its first World Series title in franchise history. And Trump hosted the Boston Red Sox last year, though many of the team’s players of color declined the invitation.

It’s uncommon for a team to visit the White House so soon after winning a championship, but most of the Nationals will be in town Saturday for a celebratory parade in downtown D.C. The Capitals also will host the Nats at Capital One Arena on Sunday, prior to their game against the Calgary Flames. A White House official told the Post that the timing was convenient for the team and the president.

Trump’s invitation comes days after he attended Game 5 of the World Series at a sold-out Nats Park over the weekend. Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump and a contingent of Republican Congress members, was met with loud boos and chants of “lock him up,” though he had some supporters among the 42,000 fans.

WJLA reports on Doolittle's declination:

When the Washington Nationals visit the White House on Monday, it will be without Sean Doolittle.

In an interview with the Washington Post Friday night, Doolittle said he would be compromising his beliefs if he were to appear with President Donald Trump, citing the president’s actions, his rhetoric, and his policies.

“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. My wife and I stand for inclusion and acceptance, and we’ve done work with refugees, people that come from, you know, the ‘s***hole countries,'” Doolittle said to the Post, referring to Trump’s pejorative term for some poorer nations.

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“At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can’t do it,” Doolittle continued. “I just can’t do it.”

Doolittle said he would respect the decision of teammates who choose to make the visit and he hopes they respect his decision.