Dodging a bad past

The Dodgers balance a complicated history with their fanbase’s love for baseball and the team.

By: Alejandro Garcia, Sports Editor

(Alejandro Rafael for the Valley Star; product by illegal_drip)

As the Downtown streets filled with the waves and roars of fans, the Los Angeles Dodgers were welcomed back to their city with a parade after an eventful seven game thriller, once again claiming the Commissioner’s Trophy and going back-to-back as the 2025 World Series champions. 

The Dodgers, with a juggernaut of a team, defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in game seven, lifting up their third title in six years. Faces covered with Dodger blue paint were overcome with joy while waving the iconic LA flag. Yet beneath some of those blue faces are brown faces still haunted by an unforgettable past.  

Chavez Ravine, located in the neighborhood of Elysian Park, is arguably home to one of the most famous ballparks in America today and has a past that cannot be ignored. Beneath Dodger Stadium lies a cemetery of broken dreams and promises – a once flourishing and beloved community. This community had its own farms, school and church that allowed  immigrants to call it home.

In the 1950s, the city of Los Angeles promised the residents of the Chavez Ravine new affordable housing under the 1949 Affordable Housing Act. However, when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, they took advantage of the freed land and instead started renovations for a new stadium. The team’s organization forcibly uprooted around 300 families and scrapped the housing plan entirely.

This tragedy greatly displaced families, destroyed homes and ruined a flourishing community all in the name of business and profit.

The same thing still continues decades later in the name of business. 

As of 2025, the owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers – Mark Walter and the Guggenheim Partners –  have been linked with private companies that are reported to fund and invest in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These private funds go towards detention centers that house undocumented immigrants across the country. 

“My friends even clowned on me for still supporting the Dodgers, but it’s not something I could just let go of,” said Lucy Barrientos, a student and lifelong Dodger fan from LAVC. “It’s been in my life ever since I was born.”

Knowing that they have a fanbase of Latinos that still decide to support the organization despite the recent issues, the Dodgers put some of their fans in a gray area of cognitive dissonance. Having a love for this iconic staple in the Hispanic community and the sport itself yet watching lives be torn apart stirs up a dilemma in fans that is hard to explain and get over, especially after supporting them for many years. Everyone applauds and recognizes the team accomplishments, but every game they attend funds and contributes to families and neighborhoods being torn apart and holds as a reminder of what happened in the past. 

The fans could be labeled as hypocrites for this same reason. However, there is a difference between supporting the organization and supporting the players because the players represent the city. Each and every one of them plays for the love of the game and for the love of the people of Los Angeles.