‘That History Cannot Be Erased’: ESPN’s Mina Kimes Calls Out Trump Defense Department for Removing Jackie Robinson Article Amid DEI Purge

ESPN’s Mina Kimes called out the Department of Defense on air Wednesday after an article honoring Jackie Robinson was inexplicably removed from its website.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — as part of President Donald Trump’s directive to get rid of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government — ordered the removal of all online content promoting diversity. As a result, thousands of photos and articles from the U.S. Military’s history were suddenly removed from the DOD’s website. Among the deleted items were articles about Robinson, the mostly-Black outfit of pilots known as the Tuskeegee Airmen, and the iconic photo of the raising of the American flag in Iwo Jima during World War II.

In response to the backlash for the removal of this content, a spokesperson for the Defense Department doubled down on the initiative to erase certain content from the website. Robinson’s article, however, was quietly restored.

On Wednesday episode of the sports game show Around the Horn, Kimes used her victory speech to raise awareness about the Defense Department’s actions. She said:

So, ESPN and others reported today that the Department of Defense — amidst an ongoing effort to purge government mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion — removed the website honoring Jackie Robinson’s military service. It has since been restored; and their spokesperson, the Pentagon press secretary, said this: “We do not view or highlight people such as Robinson through the prism of immutable characteristics such as race, amongst other things.”

So, look, Jackie Robinson was known for many things; but above all, first and foremost, it was his ongoing courage in the face of racial discrimination. In fact, 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 the bus, was arrested, and acquitted. That matters. That history cannot be erased, it cannot be undone, and it must be recognized to fully understand and celebrate his legacy.

Watch above via ESPN