thank you alex cora and many red sox for doing the right thing

Thank you Alex Cora, Mookie Betts, David Price, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr., Hector Velázquez, Christian Vázquez, Eduardo Núñez, and Sandy Leon! These nine players and their manager declined to attend the White House visit purporting to honour the 2018 championship team.

The Trump White House could not be bothered to spell the team's name correctly or name the actual sporting event that the team won. The World Series is the oldest professional team sports event in the United States, having been played since 1903. (The Kentucky Derby is older. Hopefully all the horses know that Trump's policies constitute a war on animals, and also boycott the visit.)

Earlier this year, the Golden State Warriors (NBA) expressed doubts about a White House visit, and the invitation was withdrawn. Ditto for the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) after they won the 2018 Super Bowl. However, this silly headline, implying this is "nothing new", is false. Various individual players did not join their teams on White House visits. Half a team purposely not showing up is indeed new.

I appreciate the players' actions, especially those who explicitly stated why they didn't attend. In the ultra-conservative climate of professional sports, this is especially heartening.

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