Red Sox manager Alex Cora will not visit the White House on Thursday with the rest of his team, he told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día in a written statement.
Cora told the newspaper he reached the decision after a "long process of reflection, consideration and understanding from my loved ones." He cited President Donald Trump's response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in September 2017.
"Even though the United States Government has helped, there’s still a long road ahead and that is OUR reality," he wrote in the statement. "I’ve used my voice on many occasions so that Puerto Ricans are not forgotten and my absence [from the White House] is no different.