By:Jeff Passan
The Department of Defense restored a story on its website highlight- ing Jackie Robinson’s military service Wednes- day after deleting it as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion through a “digital content refresh.” While it does not make any references to DEI, the story on Robinson was among a swath scrubbed from government websites in recent days. Before the story on Robinson’s service was restored, the URL had redirected to one that added the letters “dei” in front of “sports-heroes.”
In a statement sent by the Pentagon at 1:24 p.m. ET Wednesday, press secretary John Ullyot cited Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in saying “DEI is dead at the Defense Department” and said the Department of Defense was “pleased by the rapid compliance” that led to the erasing of stories on Robinson, Navajo Code Talkers and Ira Hayes, one of six Marines who raised the American flag at Iwo Jima.
At 2:46 p.m. ET, Ullyot released an updated statement. “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,” the updated statement said. “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.
“In the rare cases that content is removed– either deliberately or by mistake — that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period.”
By 3:09 p.m. ET, the story was restored with its original URL. The Department of Defense declined to answer questions from ESPN as to whether the removal of Robinson’s story was deliberate or mistaken Robinson, who served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947 when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of the most integral figures in American sports history, Robinson won the National League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards during a 10-year career that led to a first-ballot induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The story is part of the Department of Defense’s “Sports Heroes Who Served” series. Other stories, including one on Pee Wee Reese that references his acceptance of Robinson, his teammate, amid racial tensions in his first season, remained on the site during the time.
