Jemele Hill 'Disappointed' Dodgers Visited Trump, Falsely Claims He Tried To Erase Jackie Robinson

Former ESPN host Jemele Hill says the Los Angeles Dodgers "disappointed" her this week when they visited President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate their World Series win.

"I’m not surprised the Dodgers went to the White House, but I’m still disappointed they chose to [mingle] with the president, whose administration just recently tried to literally erase Jackie Robinson’s [legacy]," Hill said on her podcast.

"The people who are dedicated to erasing history do so because they actually want to repeat it," she continued. "So the Trump administration’s efforts to erase Jackie Robinson is on brand. When they did that, you would think you would have heard a loud and angry response from the Dodgers. Instead, you heard [crickets]."

Except, the Trump administration is not and was not trying to erase Robinson's legacy.

WASHINGTON, DC - (L-R) Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, U.S. 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. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Hill is referring to the Department of Defense removing an article from its website last month called "Sports Heroes Who Served: Baseball Great Jackie Robinson Was WWII Soldier." The story was scrubbed as part of a purge to remove all DEI-related content from the site, as per Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's initiative. However, the article never referenced "DEI." Only its URL did.

Why was "DEI" added to the URL of a story in which it did not belong?

Unlike Hill, OutKick asked the Department of Defense that very question. An official with knowledge of the situation explained to OutKick that the department instructed employees to flag all DEI content for AI removal, but only gave the staffers a week to complete the task. Due to the condensed timeline, several mistakes were made throughout the process -- including flagging the article about Jackie Robinson.

Sean Parnell, the United States Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, confirmed this in a statement later that week. 

"Without question, this task was an arduous but incredibly important undertaking. We enforced an aggressive timeline for our DoD services and agencies to comb through a vast array of content, while ensuring that our force remains ready and lethal," Parnell said. "Every now and then, because of the reality of AI tools and other software, some important content was incorrectly pulled offline to be reviewed.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Shohei Ohtani during an event honoring the 2024 World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

One could certainly criticize the DoD for the errors and for the low-level staffer mistakenly adding "DEI" to the URL. But to say the Trump administration was trying to "erase Robinson’s legacy" is factually incorrect.

If the DoD were trying to erase his legacy, the department would not have immediately restored the article when ESPN reported it had been removed. You can read the article on the DoD website right now.

Moreover, an invitation to the White House is one of the truly great honors, regardless of the administration. 

Joe Biden was the worst president since James Buchanan in 1861. He wasn't mentally capable of doing the job. Yet no one in good faith condemned the sports teams and other invitees who accepted invitations from Biden (or whoever told Biden to invite them).

Notably, HBO host Bill Maher, one of Trump's fiercest critics, visited the president at the Oval Office this week. As Maher put it, when the president invites you, you go.

On a fundamental level, visiting the White House does not send a political message. Declining an invitation in protest, as Hill wanted the Dodgers to do, would have.

Ultimately, Hill's latest screech is more telling than just another washed-up former television host looking for shares on Bluesky. There was a time when comments like hers resonated with athletes, to the point that they'd be afraid to visit Trump at the White House.

Not anymore. Athletes now do the Trump dance on the field of play. They don't care what race buffoons like Hill say. Her side has lost its grip on the culture war.

And her remarks won't deter future championship-winning teams from visiting Trump over the next four years – or, per Steve Bannon, the next eight.