Politics have been allowed to creep into sports.
It’s become even harder for people to escape the political battles of the day.
Now a Joe Biden spokeswoman insulted the World Series champions with one absurd statement.
For decades, championship-winning teams have visited the White House for a photo shoot with the president of the United States.
The 2021 Major League Baseball World Series champion Atlanta Braves showed up for their customary visit, and it didn’t take long for things to get obnoxiously political.
Joe Biden congratulated the team with a rambling story about their successful season, saying, “It was a rough start, plagued by injuries. The All-Star break, not one day of a winning record. Given a 0.4 percent chance of winning on CNN. No, I’m only joking. I listen to all the percentages on CNN, you know? My batting average isn’t nearly as good. At any rate — but the franchise never quit. It never gave in. You rebuilt the whole outfield practically overnight. Play by play, inning by inning, you grinded and you ground it out, and you did it together.”
However, a different discussion played out during a White House briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The topic of Native American sports nicknames came up when a reported asked, “[O]n the President hosting the Atlanta Braves today, I’m wondering if you or the President has any thoughts about some of the controversial — about the team name — the Braves name, the so-called tomahawk chop, any thoughts on that.”
Jean-Pierre responded, “So, look, we — we believe that it’s important to have this conversation. You know, and — and Native American and Indigenous voices, they should be at the center of this conversation. That is something that the President believes. That is something that this administration believes. And he has consistently emphasized that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You hear that often from this President.”
Jean-Pierre and other leftist activists have been keeping this non-controversy alive for decades.
Surveys showed that 90% of Native Americans are not offended by team nicknames like Redskins or Indians, yet both names were changed due to relentless pressure from activists.
The Washington Redskins are now the Commanders, and the Cleveland Indians are now the Legends.
White House visits have been highly politicized in recent years.
The so-called mainstream media tried to make it toxic for people to visit the White House when Donald Trump was president.
Teams would get congratulated by the press for refusing to go and meet with Trump.
Conversely, other teams would get met with skepticism if they did attend.
In one instance, a baseball reporter tried to insinuate that Houston Astros star Jose Altuve was angered by President Trump during his 2018 White House visit because he wasn’t smiling in a picture.
Altuve explained, “The president was talking…What do you want me to do? I was just standing there listening. It was an honor to be there. If I didn’t want to go, I just wouldn’t go…I’m [standing] behind the president, probably one of the most important guys in the world. I can’t be laughing or doing stupid things while he’s talking. I need to listen.”
Altuve later mocked the idea that his lack of a smile was a political statement.
I hate the 🏆😂 pic.twitter.com/u1QF8qmhAA
— Jose Altuve (@JoseAltuve27) March 13, 2018
It’s unfortunate that a White House visit cannot simply be a White House visit.