Los Angeles Dodgers player Kiké Hernández has indicated he will not attend the team's upcoming visit to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship, becoming potentially the first player to publicly decline the invitation.
The Dodgers, who secured their second consecutive World Series title in November, are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23. The team confirmed the invitation from President Donald Trump earlier on Friday. The visit falls on an off day during their road trip to New York City and Philadelphia.
Hernández's potential absence was suggested in a response to a fan's comment on his Instagram post, which read, "please don't go to the white house." The 34-year-old reportedly replied, "I'm not," according to a screenshot shared by the New York Post. The comment has since been deleted.
In 2025, Hernández was part of the Dodgers team that visited the White House to celebrate their 2024 World Series victory. He previously described his attendance then as more about celebrating with teammates than the significance of the presidential invitation, stating he was "wasn't really interested" in speaking with the President.
The decision for the Dodgers to visit the White House has drawn criticism. A column in the Los Angeles Times argued the trip "makes no sense," referencing the president's past actions, including ICE raids in Los Angeles, which disproportionately affect diverse communities that include many Dodgers fans. The column urged the team to reconsider, stating the visit would disregard "common human decency" and that the team needed to signal that the president's past treatment of fans was "not OK."
During the Dodgers' 2025 White House visit, President Trump welcomed players like Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, complimenting their achievements. He presented Betts with a Dodgers jersey and even predicted the team's future success.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers stated on Thursday that President Trump is "excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!"