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The Los Angeles Dodgers will accept an invitation to the White House for a ceremony to celebrate their 2025 World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
A White House official told the New York Post that the team has been in contact about a visit and the plan to attend. A date has not yet been set.
There were calls for the team to forgo the traditional celebration at the White House because of the ongoing tension with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country.
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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, US President Donald Trump and Los Angeles Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter pose with a jersey presented to Trump as he hosts the 2024 World Series champions in the East Room of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Dodgers team president Stan Kasten also said last weekend, “I don’t have any news for you on that,” regarding a visit to the White House, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the outlet that he intends to go to the White House.
“I will continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements because I am not a politician.”
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The Dodgers, winners of back-to-back World Series after a thrilling seven-game battle with the Blue Jays, have attended their White House ceremony of their most recent championships. The first was with President Joe Biden in 2021, and the team traveled to the nation’s capital for a meeting with President Donald Trump last April.
Almost the entire Dodgers roster was with Roberts in the White House last year despite fan backlash. Still, players shared the same views as Roberts – it’s tradition.
“The White House is an incredible honor to see, no matter who’s in office,” Clayton Kershaw told the New York Post. “We went in 2021. We went this time. I know there’s been a lot of talk about, are the Dodgers going to go? All of this. But at the end of the day, getting to the White House, getting to see the Oval Office, meeting the president of the United States, those are things that you can’t lose sight of, no matter what you believed I was going to do today.”
There were some, like Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol, who declined the invitation to live in “my brown house.”
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith reacts after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th inning for Game 7 of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Centre. (Nick Turchiaro/Imagn Images)
After the Dodgers defended their title in Toronto, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), an immigration rights group, wrote an online petition imploring the Dodgers not to attend the White House if an invitation comes in 2026.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers have always been more than a baseball team – they are part of the spirit of who we are as a city. The team represents our neighborhoods, our families and our shared love for our diverse communities. But right now our community, our city is under siege, we need them to stand with us, on the right side of history,” the petition read.
“Ask the team to honor the unity, integrity and diversity they themselves represent. They cannot remain silent as our families and neighbors face violence, detention and deportation. By visiting a president who has used his power to harm the most vulnerable, the team would be turning their backs on the very people who fill the stadiums, wear the jerseys of its team, and by cheering the team its heart, and by cheering this team. The White House that Los Angeles stands for compassion, dignity and solidarity with their immigrant neighbors.”
The Dodgers have had dealings with ICE in the past, announcing in June 2025 that they were denying ICE agents access to their stadium, but ICE said that was “false” since they were “never there.”
Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw holds the trophy as the Dodgers celebrate their victory in Game 7 of baseball’s World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The team said the agents had “requested permission to access the parking lots,” but an ICE spokesman said in an email to Pakinomist Digital at the time that “ICE was never at Dodgers stadium and therefore never attempted to gain access.” In a statement of their own after ICE’s denial, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that “CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly,” and it “had nothing to do with the Dodgers.”
The Dodgers are once again expected to be the favorites to win the World Series during the 2026 MLB season, especially after a big name addition including All-Star closer Edwin Diaz and All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker.
