Introduction to the Debate
Out in Wisconsin’s state capital, where the orange leaves are falling and every other person seems to wear the red and white of the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the pride and pain of rooting for the Dodgers in 2025 played out in the household of Carolina Sarmiento and Revel Sims.
The Couple’s Background
They’re urban planning professors, Southern California natives — he’s from Eagle Rock, she’s from Santa Ana; they met at UCLA — and longtime friends who have lived in Madison for a decade but are still involved in immigrant and anti-gentrification activism back home.
The Debate Unfolds
It’s one that’s unlikely to completely fade away no matter how many rings and parades the Boys in Blue rack up: Is it OK to, well, revel, in this year’s World Series champs? On one hand, the Dodgers won back-to-back titles for their first time ever and became the first team to do so in a generation. The squad looked like Los Angeles at its best: people from across the world who set aside their egos to win and bring joy to millions of Angelenos in a most difficult year for the City of Angels.
The City’s Struggles
L.A., a city long synonymous with winning — the weather, the teams, the people, the food — has suffered a terrible losing streak that started with the deadly and catastrophic Eaton and Palisades fires and continues with mass deportations that the Trump administration vows to escalate.
The Team’s Actions
That’s where the rub came for Sarmiento and other Dodgers fans. For them, the actions and inactions of the team this year have been indefensible. “For me, it started when the Dodgers went to the White House,” said the 45-year-old as we drove to their blue-and-white house. She especially took issue with shortstop Mookie Betts, who skipped a White House visit in 2019 when he was with the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox but shook Trump’s hand this time around, describing his previous snub as “very selfish.”
A Personal Connection
Sarmiento didn’t grow up a Dodgers fan but bought into the team once she and Sims became a couple. They and their two young sons usually attended Dodgers games on trips back home and regularly caught the Dodgers in Milwaukee whenever they played the Brewers. One time, manager Dave Roberts “happily” signed a jersey for them when the family ran into him at a hotel, Sarmiento said.
Expectations vs. Reality
In Madison, she long wore a Dodgers sweatshirt emblazoned with the Mexican flag that Sims bought for her because “it was a way to represent home. But not anymore. I tell Revel, ‘Babe, I’m not asking you to boycott the Dodgers forever, but they gotta give us something back.’” Sure, the Dodgers blocked federal agents from entering the Dodger Stadium parking lot in June just after la migra raided a Home Depot facility. Shortly after, the team donated $1 million to the California Community Foundation to disburse to nonprofits assisting families affected by Trump’s deportation Leviathan.
Disappointment and Frustration
But as the summer went along, Sarmiento grew frustrated that only Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernández spoke out against immigration raids and Trump’s deployment of the Marines and National Guard. She also wondered why Dodgers chairman Mark Walter wouldn’t address charges that companies he has investments in do business with Trump’s deportation machine. One has a stake in a private prison company that contracts with the federal government to run immigrant detention centers; another has a joint venture with Palantir, which ICE has contracted to create data surveillance systems that would make the Eye of Sauron from “The Lord of the Rings” series seem as innocuous as a teddy bear.
The Counterpoint
I brought up how many Dodgers fans I know saw the team’s World Series win as a giant middle finger to Trump. The heroes of Games 6 and 7, outfielders Kiké Hernández and second baseman Miguel Rojas, come respectively from Puerto Rico and Venezuela, a commonwealth Trump has neglected and a country he’s salivating to invade. The team’s most popular player, Shohei Ohtani, still proudly speaks in his native Japanese despite being in the U.S. for eight years and knowing some English. Tens of thousands of fans came out for the Dodgers victory parade and celebration at Dodger Stadium, many of them undoubtedly immigrants.
A Different Perspective
Isn’t it OK to let folks be happy? “It’s like community benefit agreements,” Sarmiento responded, referring to a tactic by neighborhood groups that sees them win commitments from developers on issues like open space, union contracts and affordable housing with the threat of protests and lawsuits. “You know what’s coming, so you try to get something out of it. This year was a political moment that fans could’ve taken and they didn’t, so the Dodgers gave nothing.”
Conclusion
In the end, the debate surrounding the Dodgers’ win is complex and multifaceted, reflecting the broader social and political issues of our time. For Sarmiento and Sims, their love for the team is undeniable, but it’s tempered by their disappointment and frustration with the team’s actions and inactions. As they navigate this moral dilemma, they represent the voices of many fans who are torn between their loyalty to their team and their commitment to social justice.
FAQs
- Q: What was the main issue that Sarmiento had with the Dodgers’ actions?
A: Sarmiento was disappointed that the Dodgers went to the White House and that shortstop Mookie Betts shook Trump’s hand after previously skipping a White House visit. - Q: What did the Dodgers do to address immigration issues?
A: The Dodgers blocked federal agents from entering the Dodger Stadium parking lot and donated $1 million to the California Community Foundation to assist families affected by Trump’s deportation policies. - Q: Why did Sarmiento stop wearing her Dodgers sweatshirt?
A: Sarmiento stopped wearing her Dodgers sweatshirt because she felt that the team was not doing enough to address social justice issues and was not giving back to the community. - Q: What was Sims’ perspective on the issue?
A: Sims felt conflicted about rooting for the Dodgers and found the team’s celebration of ethnic pride nights to be hollow given the increase in immigration raids and attacks on immigrant rights. - Q: What did Sarmiento mean by "community benefit agreements"?
A: Sarmiento referred to community benefit agreements as a tactic used by neighborhood groups to win commitments from developers on issues like open space, union contracts, and affordable housing, and applied this concept to the Dodgers’ situation, arguing that fans could have used the team’s World Series win as a moment to push for social change.(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
