WASHINGTON - Manager Joe Maddon and some of the Chicago Cubs will visit the White House on Wednesday, though it's not an official visit with President Donald Trump.
Maddon said Tuesday that he was going out of respect for the Ricketts family, which owns the Cubs and donated to Trump's campaign. Maddon said it was voluntary for Cubs players and not an official trip.
"I don't have any rules to begin with," Maddon said. "I just want you to run hard to first base. As long as you run hard to first base, they can make up their own mind whether they want to go to the White House or not. As long as my pitchers work on defense, they can do whatever they want tomorrow."
The Cubs are in Washington to play the Nationals.
The White House visit is so unofficial that Maddon said it's only "a possibility" that he and the Cubs will see Trump. The team visited President Barack Obama at the White House as World Series champions in January before the end of his term.
Maddon said he isn't making a political statement by going.
"I like the United States a lot, I like living here a lot and I like everything that it represents a lot," Maddon said. "When you get a chance as a citizen to get to go to the White House, you go. I think you go. And whether you like the person that's running the country or not, out of respect to the office itself, you go."
Asked about Golden State, which has had star guard Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr make comments about Trump and not visiting the White House, Maddon said, "You'd have to talk to the Warriors. He added that "of course" it would be a tacit political endorsement if the Warriors chose not to go.