The city of Los Angeles and the United States as a whole is currently in a period of turmoil as the result of domestic policy from President Donald Trump. The scope of what is happening goes beyond the game of baseball, but the targeted raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement began in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ backyard.
Since President Trump took office, the Dodgers elected to stay silent when it comes to politically charged matters in an effort to not rock the boat. It began with the organization accepting an invitation to visit the White House back in April, with team president and CEO Stan Kasten insisting that the trip had nothing to do with politics.
Their latest controversy involves musical artist Nezza (full name is Vanessa Hernández), who claimed to have been effectively banned from all future games following her national anthem performance last Saturday. She was asked by a team employee to not perform her rendition of “El Pendón Estrellado,” the only official Spanish translation of the national anthem, but did so anyway.
Shortly after her performance, Nezza said she received a call from someone within the Dodgers organization who told her she was no longer welcome at Dodger Stadium.
According to Jack Harris of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers said Nezza is not banned from Dodger Stadium:
The Dodgers, however, reaffirmed to CNN that there were “no hard feelings” resulting from the situation. And a team spokesperson confirmed to The Times this week that, “She is certainly welcome back at the stadium. She is not banned from the stadium.”
“El Pendón Estrellado” was commissioned in 1945 by the Division of Cultural Cooperation of the Department of State, in conjunction with the Music Educators National Conference as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America.
The winning submission was written by aspiring musician Clotilde Arias, who immigrated to the United States from Peru. Her version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was accepted as the most accurate to the original English words and still stands as the only official translation of the national anthem allowed to be sung.
Stan Kasten defends Dodgers visiting White House
Kasten does not believe the Dodgers’ decision to follow through on the White House visit should be viewed through a political lens.
He reasoned regardless of the Dodgers’ decision on a White House trip to celebrate their World Series win, opinion would be split, much like with the politics of the nation.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
