Sports

Dodgers Veteran Opts Out of White House Visit

By J.P. Hoornstra Sports Illustrated

Kiké Hernández is on the Los Angeles Dodgers' injured list recovering from a left oblique strain. Even if he's on the active roster by July 23, he probably won't join the team at the White House for its ceremonial World Series champions' visit.

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register said Hernández confirmed his plans for the Dodgers' road trip do not include a swing through Washington D.C.

"I probably wouldn't have gone," Hernandez said when asked what his decision would have been if he was on the active roster. "But being on a rehab assignment, taking at-bats is more important."

Hernández hinted at his decision Thursday, the same day the Dodgers confirmed they planned to visit Washington D.C. in between three-game series in Philadelphia and New York.

Hernández posted a photo of himself at the world premiere of the live-action remake of Moana to his Instagram account. One commenter on the photo replied, "Please don't go to the white house" to which Hernández replied simply, "I'm not."

More than a dozen Instagram commenters replied to applaud Hernández's apparent decision. Within an hour, however, he deleted his two-word response.

This will mark the second straight year the Dodgers have decided to visit the White House following a World Series win.

On Thursday, White House spokeswomen Taylor Rogers released a statement confirming the Dodgers' scheduled appearance.

"President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!" Rogers said.

The Dodgers released a statement of their own.

"As was the case one year ago, the Dodgers' upcoming visits to the White House and Capitol Hill follow the longtime tradition of visits by other World Series champions," the statement read. "We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships."

Hernández has been among MLB's most outspoken critics of President Donald Trump. In 2017, the Puerto Rico native posted a video of Trump's visit to the island and criticized the president's light-hearted approach to passing out supplies to hurricane victims.

"I've tried not getting too political but PR is going through something very serious and this guy is trying to make this [expletive] funny?! SMH!!!" Hernández wrote on his Twitter/X account.

"This is serious. This is not a joke," Hernández told reporters at the time. "To see him throw paper towels out there like those people are inferior. … It's like going to Vegas right now and starting to throw Band-Aids to the public, you know?

"I try not to be too political. But it's not about politics. … It's not a time to be joking. Be respectful to the people who are suffering and are in need. Show some sympathy. Show some humanity. Show some heart. That's what [angered me]. It's not anything else but that."

As for the rest of the team, manager Dave Roberts said: "It's an individual choice - as it should be - and I don't think anyone is judging anyone for going or not going."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Dodgers Veteran Opts Out of White House Visit.

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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM.

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