Last week the Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves in a pickle.
Nearly two weeks after the start of escalating, violent federal immigration raids across the Los Angeles area, the World Series champs had yet to make any kind of public statement, despite facing strong criticism from even some of their most loyal fans.
Then, last Wednesday, the Dodgers said they were going to make a big announcement related to the raids the following day.
The next day, activists trailed federal police from a raid at a Home Depot in East Hollywood to the gates of Dodger Stadium, prompting rumors that Dodger parking lots were being used as staging areas for ICE.
The news seemingly forced the Dodgers to finally acknowledge the elephant in the room.
In a statement, management said that “ICE agents” asked to use their parking lot but were denied. They did not however make any further statements about the immigration raids or reveal what they had teased a day earlier.
That Friday, the team announced that they were going to donate $1 million to help families who have been impacted by the raids.
“What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” Stan Kasten, the Dodgers president and CEO, said in a statement. “We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.”
But by then, the damage was already done.
The tone-deaf statements and relatively modest donation, for a team whose controlling owner is reportedly spending $10 billion to buy the Lakers, sent a message to some fans that the Dodgers don't care about Mexican immigrants or Mexican-Americans, two communities that make up a substantial portion of their fan base.
For decades the Dodgers have spent countless marketing dollars pandering to Latinos. But now when the community needs their support more than ever, they’ve largely remained silent.
A spokesperson for the Dodgers did not respond to a request for comment as of publishing.
At a protest on Saturday in Echo Park, an educator and lifelong Dodger fan who identified themselves as Hector said that the Dodgers’ statement lacked compassion. Hector compared the statement that the Dodgers made in support of Israel after Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack to the statement that they made about the immigration raids.
“If you look at the response to the immigrant community it was tone deaf and informal, it was distant and did not equal the same passion that was shown for a foreign country. This is literally their backyard,” Hector said. “This is literally the majority of their fan base and they’re not responding.”
Hector was one of the more than 200 people who braved 80-degree heat on Saturday to protest the Dodgers.
When asked how he would respond to people who say that baseball is not political, Hector said, “Ask Jackie Robinson [that question].”
“Look at the history of this territory, right? Chavez Ravine,” Hector continued. “So those are people that are being willfully ignorant.”
Hector has been a Dodger fan since 1979, when he was seven-years-old, he said.
“So I understand the fanaticism, but history and books [are greater] than fanaticism. Our people are greater than the Dodgers,” he said.“Now we can continue to be fans, right, but we need to hold them accountable the same way that we've shown them support despite what they did to our community, right?”
Saturday’s protest attracted people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens.
Police were not present at the protest and there were no reports of any vandalism or violence. Protesters mostly remained on sidewalks, unless they were walking through designated crosswalks when allowed.
“The energy of today's protest was a lot higher than expected,” 29-year-old Zxaye Jah-Reign told L.A. TACO during an interview. “We had people stop their cars. We had people get out and join us. I think at the peak of the protest, we probably had 250, 300 people. Right now it's dwindled down to about 100. It's pretty hot out here, but you got to love the spirit of the people in L.A.”
As a Black man, Jah-Reign believes that the Black community has a responsibility to stand up for Latinos who are clearly being targeted by the federal government.
“I've been in LA for about six years, but I grew up in Miami, so I've always been around the Latin community,” Jah-Reign said. “But this isn't just about the Latin community. This is also about the black community. A lot of my community feels like this has nothing to do with them. We don't have the luxury of sitting out any wave of revolution. Every wave of revolution is relevant to our cause. If we sit this out and we watch our brothers and sisters’ numbers dwindle, then we'll have even less numbers if we decide to unite later on.We have to look past the nuances of our differences and be able to unite for a greater cause.”
Jah-Reign said the main reason people were protesting on Saturday “is because Trump is superseding due process.”
“He's arresting reporters. He's arresting senators. When you see that happening anytime in history, that is the beginning of fascism,” Jah-Reign continued. “That's why we're out here, because we're not going to go quietly into the night as a fascist regime takes place.”
By late Saturday afternoon, the protest started to die down, about an hour before the Dodgers took on the Washington Nationals.
At around 6 PM, a smaller group of protesters moved to the entrance of Dodger Stadium on Vin Scully Avenue and Stadium Way, forcing fans headed to the game to look them in the eyes while they chanted, “Boycott the Dodgers!”
The protesters' presence seemed to bother some fans who were eager to take their seats. But most of them seemed to approve of their message by cheering on the protesters, honking their horns, or pumping their fists.
