A handful of players with the World Series winning Washington Nationals decided to skip a visit Monday with President Donald Trump at the White House.
“Anthony Rendon, Javy Guerra, Joe Ross, Wander Suero, Wilmer Difo, Michael A. Taylor, Victor Robles, Roenis Elías, and Sean Doolittle of the Nationals were not listed on the official attendance for today’s ceremony at the WH, per a Washington Post reporter. (RELATED: Three Houston Astros Players Skipped Their Visit To The White House)
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Anthony Rendon, Javy Guerra, Joe Ross, Wander Suero, Wilmer Difo, Michael A. Taylor, Victor Robles and Sean Doolittle are not on the official attendance list for today’s ceremony at the White House.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) November 4, 2019
A short time later, the reporter tweeted that several catchers added to the roster in September, Raudy Reed and Tres Barrera were also not in attendance at today’s ceremony for the World Series winners. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Add two more here: Catchers Raudy Read and Tres Barrera are not in attendance with the Nationals. Both were catchers added to the 40-man roster in September and spent most of the postseason run with the team. https://t.co/IaCTBLfU7k
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) November 4, 2019
It comes after Sean Doolittle shared ahead of the event that he wasn’t interested in going to the WH with the team Monday because of Trump’s “divisive rhetoric,” per the Washington Post.
“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,” the Nationals player shared. “My wife and I stand for inclusion and acceptance, and we’ve done work with refugees, people that come from, you know, the ‘shithole countries,”’ a comment referencing what the president allegedly said about Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations back in January of 2018.
“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,” he added. “I just can’t do it.”
Nationals standing on the steps while Donald Trump addresses a big crowd with Dave Martinez, Mike Rizzo and Ryan Zimmerman standing behind him. They all walked out together. pic.twitter.com/BC89z2rrlN
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) November 4, 2019
There have been no further public comments from any of the other team players as to their absence at Monday’s ceremony.
