Betts distances himself from politics, cites new baby for skipping White House

Betts distances himself from politics, cites new baby for skipping White House

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said he declined to attend the White House celebration of the team’s 2024 World Series title for personal reasons, not political ones, telling Fox News Digital the recent birth of his daughter made the family decision straightforward. Betts, 32, had attended the corresponding White House visit following the Dodgers’ previous championship and said he does not view his absence this time as a statement of any kind.

Speaking on behalf of LGND, his glove company, Betts pushed back against the broader expectation that professional athletes carry political weight. “I don’t know why the world sees athletes as these political figures or these people that can make change,” he said. “We go out and play our sport.” He acknowledged that athletes face criticism regardless of which way they lean on such decisions, describing the position as one where “I’m kind of damned if I do or damned if I don’t,” and said he chose to prioritise his own family’s wellbeing rather than manage outside expectations.

Betts is one of the most decorated players of his generation, an eight-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner who has collected multiple World Series rings across his career. The draft material notes he is hitting .235 this season with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs, below his career average of .288, though the Dodgers remain among the sport’s title contenders entering the second half of the schedule.

With the second half of the Major League Baseball season ahead, Betts will aim to lift both his personal numbers and the Dodgers’ bid for a third consecutive World Series title – on-field goals he described as his primary focus.