ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently highlighted the U.S. Department of Defense’s removal of an article about Jackie Robinson’s service in the Army, sending a clear message to the “ghouls” responsible: “Fix this.” While not effortless, Passan got his wish. On Wednesday afternoon, he announced via X that the Pentagon had indeed restored the article detailing Robinson’s military career. This restoration occurred less than an hour after Passan shared a statement from Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot that seemed to reaffirm the article’s removal, which was part of the Trump administration’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Ullyot’s statement emphasized the Department of Defense’s admiration for Jackie Robinson and other historical figures, asserting, “We salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country… We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex.” He further explained that in rare instances where content is removed outside the scope of their directives, they would instruct the appropriate components to rectify such oversights.
The @DeptofDefense story on Jackie Robinson has been restored to its original URL. No longer does it redirect to one with the letters “dei” in it: https://t.co/fOV2UH2m7t
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2025
When asked about the reason for the removal of the story on the @DeptofDefense website on Jackie Robinson’s military service, Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said the following in a statement to ESPN.
(The story remains deleted.) pic.twitter.com/gfwEKS1fiy
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2025
While it might be an oversimplification to attribute the reversal solely to Passan’s public pressure, his persistent efforts seemingly contributed to the article being reactivated. Notably, “dei” was removed from the page’s URL after initially being added, which directed users to a “404 – Page Not Found” page.
According to Passan, the Department of Defense did not clarify whether the removal of the Robinson article was intentional or a mistake. Regardless of whether he encouraged the Pentagon’s reconsideration or merely highlighted an error, Passan’s vigilant advocacy played an essential role in resolving the situation.
