Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has announced that he will skip the upcoming visit to the White House.
“I don’t get into politics. But I won’t be going,” Bradley told the Boston Globe.
Still, it seems that Bradley is acting more along political lines than he wants to let on because the center-fielder had no problems visiting the White House when his team won the World series in 2013 during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Bradley is not the only Sox player to bow out of a White House visit. At the end of January, fellow outfielder Mookie Betts announced he would be foregoing the team’s trip to D.C. Third baseman Rafael Devers also reportedly added his name to the “no” column in mid-January.
On the other hand, Chris Sale, Mitch Moreland, Blake Swihart, and Brock Holt, have all reportedly said they plan to attend the event.
The Red Sox had been scheduled to visit the White House on February 15, but the visit was rescheduled due to the ongoing debate about the federal budget and resulting government shutdowns.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.