Nationals pitcher declines White House visit: "I just can't do it"
This article, Nationals pitcher declines White House visit: "I just can't do it", originally appeared on CBSNews.com
The Washington Nationals will head to the White House Monday to meet with President Trump . But pitcher won't be going.
"There's a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country," Doolittle said in an interview with The Washington Post.
"At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can't do it," Doolittle said. "I just can't do it."
"People say you should go because it's about respecting the office of the president," Doolittle said. "And I think over the course of his time in office he's done a lot of things that maybe don't respect the office."
"The rhetoric, time and time again, has enabled those kind of behaviors," Doolittle said, according to The Post, which said he was referring to white supremacy and racism. "That never really went away, but it feels like now people with those beliefs, they maybe feel a little bit more empowered. They feel like they have a path, maybe. I don't want to hang out with somebody who talks like that."
Doolittle said he wants his teammates to enjoy their experience at the White House, but reiterated that he couldn't be part of the festivities. He'll still take part in a in D.C. on Saturday.
"I don't want to get mad online, as they say," he said. "I want people to know that I put thought into this and, at the end of the day, I just can't go."
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