Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora could skip his team's planned visit to the White House next month.
As is traditional for teams that have won the national title, the Red Sox are scheduled to attend a reception at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. However, Cora suggested he might not join his players and the rest of the coaching staff when they make their way to Washington, D.C., on February 15, due to President Donald Trump's policies towards Puerto Rico.
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"We'll see what happens," said Cora, who was born in Puerto Rico, while speaking to the Boston branch of the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Thursday, per CBS.
"There's a lot of stuff going on right now as far as the government and the shutdown and all that. If I go, I'll represent Puerto Rico the right way."
In September 2018, Cora criticized Trump after the president questioned official figures that put the death toll from Hurricane Maria, which hit the island in 2017, at 3,000.
Trump insisted the figure was a plot orchestrated by the Democrats to smear him, and claimed there were "anywhere from six to 18 deaths" when he left the island after the storm had hit.
"To be tweeting about 3,000 people [...] it's actually disrespectful for my country," Cora told reporters. "We see it that way. I know probably he doesn't feel that way. And like I said: Hey man, thank you for helping us. He went down there, he did what he did."
The 43-year-old Cora, who became only the fifth man to lead a team to the World Series title in his first season as a manager, had initially suggested he would visit the White House to call for increased help for his native island.
But on Thursday night he said, "I don't know what kind of platform I'm going to have if I go.
"Sometimes, if you walk the other way and you get your back to whatever is going on, is it positive? I don't know. Sometimes you've got to show your face."
Sports champions' visits to the White House have become a thorny political issue ever since Trump was elected in 2016.
In May 2018, the president canceled the Philadelphia Eagles' planned visit after hearing that most of the players and coaches had indicated they would boycott the event.
A report from The New York Times suggested that less than 10 members of the Super Bowl LII winning team would attend.
Trump's decision to cancel the invitation prompted basketball stars Stephen Curry and LeBron James to tell the president ahead of the NBA Finals in June that neither the Cleveland Cavaliers nor the Golden State Warriors would visit the White House if invited.
That same month, Washington Capitals winger Devante Smith and forward Brett Connolly suggested they would skip the trip to Washington.
The Capitals won the Stanley Cup seven months ago and have yet to receive a formal invite.
On Monday night, however, Clemson Tigers players and coaches visited the White House after winning the College Football Playoff earlier this month.
The Red Sox have said they are leaving the decision up to each member of the team.
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Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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