Jackie Robinson objected to racism in the U.S. Army before he signed with the Dodgers. (Photo by William C. Green/Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images)
(Sports Studio Photos via Getty Images)
The Department of Defense has restored a story dedicated to the Army history of Jackie Robinson, who defiantly opposed racism in the military before breaking baseball’s color barrier, on its website. The story, published in 2021, was unexpectedly removed from the department’s website Tuesday night, but returned on Wednesday.
As KSBW and ESPN’s Jeff Passan noted, the webpage had been scrubbed on Tuesday, with “dei” added to the URL before the story’s headline. The use of that term indicated that it was taken down as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to remove diversity, equity and inclusion programs from everything with ties to the federal government.
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The return of the story came soon after a series of statements from Department of Defense press secretary John Ullyot were shared with ESPN. In the first statement, Ullyot denounced DEI and praised the Department for its “rapid compliance” with the Trump administration’s policy.
Minutes later, an amended statement sent to ESPN took a different tone, with Ullyot acknowledging Robinson’s military service. Both statements said that content removed in error would be corrected, but did not clarify whether the page was deliberately taken down.
Moment after that, the story was restored to the Department’s website. The term “dei” is no longer in the URL.
Robinson isn’t alone in having a webpage taken down from the Pentagon’s website. The Trump Administration drew outrage earlier Tuesday when it gave the Navajo Code Talkers a similar treatment, as well as a Black recipient of the Medal of Honor and Japanese American veterans. In each case, the Trump administration said the removal was a mistake on the part of an automated process and the content would be restored.
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The now-restored story goes through Robinson’s life before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, most notably recapping the incident that nearly derailed the MLB legend’s military career:
On July 6, 1944, Robinson boarded an Army bus. The driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus, but Robinson refused. The driver called the military police, who took Robinson into custody. He was subsequently court martialed, but he was acquitted.
After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for Army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944.
Robinson went on to a successful Negro League career, then a successful MLB career. In addition to breaking the color barrier, he slashed .313/.410/.477 in his career with seven All-Star nods, an MVP award, a Rookie of the Year Award, a batting title and the Dodgers’ long-awaited first World Series title in 1955. His No. 42 was officially retired across MLB in 1997, a reflection of his universal significance.
Prior to the story being restored on the website, an MLB spokesperson said the league is “aware and looking into it,” per ESPN.
Trump has paid tribute to Robinson before, announcing in February as part of Black History Month that a statue of Robinson, along with other notable Black figures, would be added to his planned National Garden of American Heroes:
“Today, we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people,” Trump told the crowded room at the White House on Thursday.
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Robinson’s family has objected to Trump’s use of his image in the past. After Trump’s 2020 campaign featured a picture of Robinson and other civil rights heroes in an ad, Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, responded in outrage and demanded the image be removed:
“Jackie Robinson’s family strongly objects to the use of Jackie Robinson’s image in a Donald Trump @JRFoundation The Trump campaign is in opposition to all that Jackie Robinson stood for and believed in. We’re insulted and demand that his image be removed!”
As the reigning World Series champions, Robinson’s Dodgers are in line to visit Trump at the White House, which the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have said they will do. The Dodgers have not said whether they plan to do so. They’re scheduled to face the Washington Nationals on the road, a series in which World Series winners often visit the White House, beginning April 7.
