The Chicago Cubs’ visit to the White House was already a headline-grabber before it even happened.
In a surprising move, the team decided to move its visit to Monday and became the last team President Barack Obama will honor in office.
Then, Monday’s event happened, and more news was made. While President Obama was pointing out the various members of the Cubs’ World Series squad, he did not mention Aroldis Chapman, Chicago’s closer during its run to the championship. The move is likely due to Chapman’s murky past.
Here’s video of the Cubs’ visit and Obama’s snub.
As previously mentioned, it appears the President purposely omitted Chapman’s name due to issues with domestic violence. The All-Star closer was suspended at the beginning of the 2016 season after an incident with his then-girlfriend that included Chapman allegedly punching and choking the woman.
This isn’t the first time this has happened when a team visits the White House. President Obama snubbed U.S. Women’s National Team goalie Hope Solo when the team visited the White House following their 2015 Women’s World Cup victory.
With just days left in office, Obama continues to show his “I’ll do what I want and don’t give a bleep” mentality. It’s kind of nice to see and definitely sends a message. You go, Barry.