In May 2019, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora made headlines when he declined an invitation to visit the White House and then-president Donald Trump with the rest of his World Series-winning team.
The visit is a ceremonial honor typically extended to the championship team of every major professional sports league in the United States. So why did Cora decline the invitation?
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At the time, the Puerto Rican native said the federal government has done "some things back home that are great," but added that "we still have a long ways to go."
Puerto Rico was recovering from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria at the time, and many took Cora's words and actions as a direct reflection of Trump's response to the toll of the natural disaster.
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Plenty of Red Sox players and coaches made the ceremonial visit to Washington D.C. in 2019. Many noted that White House attendance seemed to be divided along racial lines — only non-white players did not make the trip, leaving mostly white players and staff to attend the visit.
Cora addressed the incident in an episode of The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey that dropped Wednesday.
"One of the things that — it's not that I regret, but I think I should've been more clear — it was a visit to the White House," Cora said. "I have nothing against the President at that moment. It was Donald Trump at that moment, President Trump, but I felt me celebrating something at that stage, while (Puerto Ricans) were still suffering, it was bad. I didn't feel comfortable doing it.
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"We are part of the United States," Cora continued. "What they do for us is amazing — the funding, all of that — but there was still work to do. And I felt very awkward, like, 'let's celebrate this at the White House' right while a lot of people suffered here. People took it like politics. No. My thing is sports and my family, right? I regret because I wasn't clear about it."
Cora went on to say that Puerto Rico "means the world to me." He visited his home territory to deliver supplies to hurricane victims in Jan. 2018, along with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, team president Sam Kennedy, and assistant general manager Eddie Romero.
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"For me to bring joy to them, it meant a lot," Cora told Casey. "I still remember an interview with (TBS broadcaster Brian Anderson) after we won the ALCS. B.A. goes, 'a lot of people back home are proud of you.' I'm like, 'no man I'm proud of them because we keep fighting, that's the most important thing.' "
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