The controversial reason Jackie Robinson’s Army history was removed from the U.S. Department of Defense website

Baseball legend Jackie Robinson stood up for racism in the military and in Major League Baseball, becoming the first African-American to play in the major league. He broke the color barrier and started for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Before that, he served as a soldier during WWII.

There was a story dedicated to his history in the Army on the U.S. Department of Defense website, until Tuesday, when it was suddenly removed.

Jackie Robinson’s Army story disappeared from U.S. DOD website

The webpage’s URL now features “dei” before the article, indicating that it was likely removed due to President Donald Trump’s executive order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the federal government.

The story, titled “Sports Heroes Who Served: Baseball Great Jackie Robinson Was WWII Soldier” is available to read in full on the Internet Archive. It talks about Robinson’s life before the Dodgers, and in particular an incident in which he took a stand against racism, causing him to be taken into custody by the military police.

Articles about Robinson’s military service were removed from the Army and Air Force websites as well. And his story isn’t the only one to have been removed since Trump’s orders. Articles about Navajo Code Talkers, a Black recipient of the Medal of Honor, and Japanese American veterans were all taken down as well. In those cases, the Trump administration said they were removed due to an automated process, but that it was a mistake and the content would be restored. Still, they stand by their DEI purge.

Jackie Robinson’s family speaks out against Trump

During Black History Month in February, Trump announced a number of historical figures to be added to his planned National Garden of American Heroes, naming Jackie Robinson as one of them.

Robinson’s family spoke out strongly against this idea. They also asked for his image to be removed from Trump’s 2020 campaign when he featured it in an ad, saying that Trump’s values and ideals go against everything Robinson stood for.

“Jackie Robinson’s family strongly objects to the use of Jackie Robinson’s image in a Donald Trump @JRFoundation,” said Robinson’s daughter Sharon. “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!”

Dodgers set to visit White House

Robinson’s old team won the World Series last year and are therefore set to visit the president in the White House, but the Dodgers have not yet said whether or not they will.

The Philadelphia Eagles famously refused to meet Trump in 2018 when they won the Super Bowl after Trump criticized the Black NFL players who were standing up for racial justice. This year, however, the Eagles have said they will accept Trump’s invitation.

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