Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez confirmed Sunday that he refused to stay at Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower with teammates during a May series against the Cubs.
“I didn’t stay there,” Gonzalez said, per JP Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. “I had my reasons.”
The Dodgers had long used the Donald Trump-owned hotel as their headquarters during Chicago road trips. They did not stay at the Trump Tower during their recent National League Championship Series trip to Chicago because the location required a non-refundable deposit.
Gonzalez refused to elucidate on the reasoning behind his decision.
“We’re here to play baseball, not talk politics,” he said.
Gonzalez was born in San Diego but raised in Mexico. He has played for the Mexican national team in the World Baseball Classic and has worked to build the game in his family’s native country. As Hoornstra noted, Gonzalez has donated to multiple Mexican charities and helped rebuild a Tijuana youth facility where he honed his game as a child.
Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has made a series of disparaging remarks about Mexicans during his campaign. He has consistently proposed the construction of a wall on the Mexican-American border aimed at keeping illegal immigrants out of the country. Trump has also accused Mexican immigrants of bringing drugs to the U.S. and of rape, among other crimes.
A recent NBC News poll showed Trump trails Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 50 points among Latino voters.
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