As fellow ESPNer Jeff Passan reported, the U.S. Defense Department has attempted to erase references to Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson and his military service. Mina Kimes used her celebratory “Face Time” on Wednesday’s Around the Horn to honor Robinson’s military legacy. Beyond breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson was also a veteran and a statesman, a subject covered on the Department of Defense’s website until Tuesday, when the federal government removed stories about his service as part of an effort to rewrite history that attempts to extinguish diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives—none of which relate to Robinson’s army enlistment.
Kimes recounted the importance of Robinson’s story during her win on Wednesday’s Around the Horn. “Jackie Robinson was known for many things. But above all, first and foremost, it was his ongoing courage in the face of racial discrimination,” Kimes emphasized. “In addition to crossing the color barrier in baseball, he served in a segregated unit in the Army and, in one instance, refused to move to the back of a bus, leading to his arrest and subsequent acquittal. That matters. That history cannot be erased, it must be acknowledged to truly understand and celebrate his legacy.”
You cannot tell the story of Jackie Robinson—the ballplayer, serviceman, or human—without acknowledging our country’s history of racial discrimination.
From @AroundtheHorn: pic.twitter.com/k5HY7v9gbp
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) March 19, 2025
After Passan’s reporting, the Defense Department ultimately republished the webpage on Robinson. This incident underscores the broad use of the term “DEI” to encompass any discussions relating to race and ethnicity. Robinson voluntarily chose to enlist in the army, and he remains a Hall of Fame baseball player with his jersey number retired by all 30 MLB teams, irrespective of the government’s censorship. As Kimes points out, this is not a political fact; it’s simply the truth of Robinson’s life and career, essential to appreciating the full scope of who he was as a man and a historical figure.
