Many have questioned whether Red Sox Manager and Peurto Rican native Alex Cora will attend the White House ceremony when the World Series champs make the trip to D.C. next month.
However, Cora maintains that he will make the trip to see President Trump, at least for now.
According to Sporting News:
The 43-year-old manager, who is a native of Puerto Rico, indicated he is reconsidering celebrating his team’s World Series championship at the White House amid reports that the government attempted to block disaster-recovery funds for Puerto Rico from the effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017 to help finance a wall along the Mexican border.
Cora said (via USA Today) of visiting the White House: ‘Right now I can say yes. … It might change tomorrow.’
The Red Sox accepted the invitation from Trump’s administration in December, and Cora initially said he would attend and use the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico, promising to use the platform in the ‘right way.’
‘In the offseason I was like ‘whoa.’ It’s different right now back home,’ Cora said (via the Boston Globe). ‘Not only for me but for my family. So we’ll see. We’ll see. I’ll represent them the right way. We’ll have to wait.’
The decision, according to Cora, will be made in the best interests of Puerto Rico. If the Boston manager feels like attending the White House will advance the cause of hurricane relief, he will go. If he doesn’t, then he won’t.
“I don’t know what kind of platform I’m going to have if I go,” he explained. “Sometimes, if you walk the other way and you get your back to whatever is going on, is it positive? I don’t know. Sometimes you’ve got to show your face.”
President Trump is scheduled to host the Red Sox at the White House, on February 15th.
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