LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the unrest in Los Angeles with protests sparked by immigration raids carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I know that when you’re having to bring people in and, you know, deport people and just kind of all the unrest, it’s certainly unsettling for everyone,’ Roberts said June 13 during his pregame press conference at Dodger Stadium.
Roberts spoke before the Dodgers’ first home game since the protests started June 6, facing the San Francisco Giants after a six-game road trip that began the same day the protests started.
Roberts, who helped lead the Dodgers to World Series titles in 2020 and 2024, said he didn’t know enough about the situation to ‘speak intelligently on it.’
‘I don’t know enough, to be quite honest with you,’ Roberts said, adding that he ‘hasn’t done enough and can’t speak intelligently on it.’
The Dodgers have deep ties to Los Angeles’ Latino community. In 1981, Fernando Valenzuela, who grew up in Etchohuaquila, a small town in Mexico, could barely speak English as a 20-year-old rookie who won the Cy Young award. He also sparked ‘Fernandomania,’ a craze that swept across Southern California and helped the Dodgers build a loyal Mexican American fan base.
Multiple Dodgers players declined to discuss the unrest in Los Angeles when asked by USA TODAY Sports before the game.
Giants first baseman Dom Smith, a Los Angeles native, told the San Francisco Chronicle there had been raids in his girlfriend’s neighborhood.
“My family is still down there, and it’s very sad, what’s going on, people being stripped away from their families,” Smith told the Chronicle. “It’s heartbreaking. Obviously there’s a right way to do things, and if you can put yourself in their shoes and you see a mother or father ripped away from a child and you don’t know where they’re going or for how long and those questions aren’t being answered, it’s traumatizing.”
Pride Night support for immigrants
Marco Weinman of Los Angeles attended his first Dodger Stadium Pride Night and found himself reflecting on two groups of people who have been targeted.
The gay community, to which he belongs, and immigrants – particularly those being detained and deported in divisive ICE raids.
“I can absolutely identify,’ said Weinman, 55, an IT consultant. “I mean, this country is a country of immigrants, right? I’m second-generation American. My grandparents immigrated here … from Eastern Europe. So we’re all immigrants. LA is a city of immigrants.’
He said he planned to attend the ‘No Kings Day’ protest in downtown LA on Saturday, June 14 “because I feel compelled. There’s been a lot of injustice that’s happened.’
Allyson Jackson, was at Dodger Stadium with friends for Pride Night, finds herself at the cross section of both communities. She said she’s Mexican, Puerto Rican and Black.
“I have close friends and family who are undocumented and who are being affected by this,’ Jackson, 32, told USA TODAY Sports. “And 1000% percent I feel empathy towards everyone and it hurts. It’s very heartbreaking.’
She said she appreciates the Dodgers holding multiple heritage nights for different ethnic communities. That includes Mexican Heritage Night, Guatemalan Heritage Night and Salvadoran Heritage Night.
Guilt at Dodger Stadium
Jazzmin Martinez of Whittier, California was wrangling her two young children at Dodger Stadium before the game when asked if being here was an escape from the recent unrest in L.A.
“No, not for me,’ Martinez, 34, told USA TODAY Sports. “It almost kind of makes me feel, not ashamed, but I can’t be having fun.’
Referring to ongoing immigration raids that have sparked protests, she said, ‘I’m here and that’s happening. … You got to numb yourself a little bit because then you get stuck in sadness.’
Martinez and Diego Sauceda, who started dating in high school, said they’re both first-generation Americans whose parents immigrated from Mexico. They bought tickets to the game before protests started and decided to bring their 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
Sauceda said the car wash he frequents in Whittier “got hit.’
“They’re super nice people,’ said Sauceda, 35. “They’re hardworking, … It just breaks my heart seeing everything going on.’
But as they settled into their pavilion seats in left field, his children were ready to dig into their popcorn and the sadness seemed to lift.
“We’ve been telling our kids about it for weeks now,’ he said. “We just like, we’re going to show up and let’s see what goes on. So we’re just here just to just enjoy ourselves with our kids.’
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.