Stephen Miller-backed group files complaint against Dodgers over DEI

8 hours ago

A group backed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has filed a federal complaint against the Los Angeles Dodgers over the team's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.
Why it matters: The Dodgers are one of the most popular MLB teams among Asian, Black and Mexican American fans and recently committed $1 million to help immigrants affected by President Trump's immigration raids in Southern California last month.
The big picture: The complaint is part of a larger strategy by MAGA conservative-led groups to attack private companies that are keeping programs aimed at helping or recruiting people of color.
Zoom in: America First Legal (AFL) announced this week it has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Dodgers and the investment firm Guggenheim Partners.
The group says the reigning World Series champions are "engaging in unlawful discrimination under the guise of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI), in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
The complaint alleges that the Dodgers "appear to be engaging in similar unlawful DEI practices by allowing race, color, and sex to motivate employment decisions."
AFL specifically attacks Dodgers' programs that seek to help Asian Americans, Black Americans and Latinos, which the group claims are unlawful.
The Dodgers and controlling owner Mark Walter's Guggenheim Partners did not immediately respond to Axios for comment.
The team participated on Sunday in a "Salute to the Negro Leagues" game against the Kansas City Royals where Dodgers player wore Brooklyn Dodgers caps.
The intrigue: AFL in its announcement cited the Dodgers saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were denied access to parking lots outside Dodger Stadium last month.
MAGA conservatives responded angrily on social media to the Dodgers, and the Department of Homeland Security denied that it had asked for access.
Between the lines: The complaint comes as Trump's Justice Department is using a broad reinterpretation of Civil Rights-era laws to focus on " anti-white racism" rather than discrimination against people of color.
In March, MLB removed the word "diversity" from its MLB Careers home page in reaction to Trump's executive order ending "equal opportunity" for people of color and women in recruiting.
The change appears to affect MLB's Diversity Pipeline Program, which Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred launched in 2016.
What they're saying: "Stephen Miller's group is dressing up vengeance as legal action," Jared Rivera, chief of staff of the advocacy group PICO California, said after the complaint was filed.
Retaliating against the Dodgers for their compassion shows Miller is threatened when the team and its fans stand up for what is moral and right."
PICO California was one of the groups urging the Dodgers to speak out more about the immigration raids.
Context: The Dodgers had come under criticism earlier this month for failing to speak out against ICE raids in LA and for unsuccessfully pressuring a singer not to perform a Spanish version of the national anthem at a Dodgers game.
Latino fans — especially Mexican Americans — comprise a large percentage of the Dodgers' fan base, a trend that has been ongoing since the late 1980s, when Mexican-born left-handed pitcher Fernando Valenzuela played for the team.
Fun fact: The Dodgers are credited with helping spark the civil rights movement by calling up Jackie Robinson in 1947, which broke MLB's modern-day color line.