The removal came after President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to end DEI initiatives
An article highlighting Jackie Robinson’s military service in World War II and his historic role as the first Black player in the modern history of Major League Baseball was removed from the Department of Defense website, only to reappear Wednesday afternoon
The DOD has offered no initial explanation for the article’s removal, but it follows President Donald Trump’s directive to federal agencies instructing them to end all DEI initiatives. The Pentagon has been at the forefront of the push, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering the public affairs team to “take all practicable steps” to “remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).”
Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot responded to the removal of the Jackie Robinson article in a statement ahead of its eventual reinstatement: “Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others — we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop. We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like ever other American who has worn the uniform.”
Another Defense article celebrating Maj. Gen. Charles Gavin Rogers — a highly decorated Black officer from the Vietnam War — was temporarily taken down recently and the phrase “deimedal” appeared in the URL, removing any doubt as to why it was scrubbed. The article has been restored with the original URL, but the Internet Archive captured the “deimedal” error page.
A third article commemorating Native American soldier Ira Hayes, one of the six Marines captured in a famous 1944 photo raising a flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima, was also removed. It’s been replaced by a 404 error, though there’s no reference to “DEI” on the page.
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In 1997, Robinson’s number, 42, was retired by all Major League Baseball teams, it’s the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout a major sports league in the U.S. The Mets have an entire area dedicated to him called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field. (Reps for the Mets did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment).
Robinson is an odd figure for a Republican administration to target. He campaigned hard for Richard Nixon in 1960, and was an active part of Nelson Rockefeller’s efforts to win the Republican nomination in 1964. He eventually changed sides that year when the Republican nominated Barry Goldwater, an opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But he didn’t let go of his conservative views, and was a vocal supporter of the Vietnam War.
