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Donald Trump wouldn't be welcomed to Camden Yards by Orioles VP

President Donald Trump would not received a warm welcome from at least one Orioles executive. (AP)
President Donald Trump would not received a warm welcome from at least one Orioles executive. (AP)

Baltimore Orioles vice president John Angelos says a few things would have to change before he’d ever welcome President Donald Trump to Camden Yards.

According to the Washington Post, the son of Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos shared his criticism of the Trump administration during a recent appearance on the Baltimore-based podcast “B-More Opinionated.” Angelos most notably stated that divisive rhetoric and actions during Trump’s campaign and presidency would make it impossible to welcome Trump in good conscience.

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Angelos did leave the door open to reconsider his stance, but says that would require an apology from the administration and an honest effort to embrace all members of the community.

Here’s an excerpt, courtesy of USA Today:

“Ultimately that decision is with the ownership group as to what major politicians and political figures and societal figures they want to invite,” Angelos said, per the Washington Post. “I know that the administration has taken a lot of criticism for its controversial positions; I think more so perhaps for statements made both during the campaign and since the administration came in concerning things that are considered to be problematic from a race, ethnicity, religious, gender, disability. People in those communities have been spoken about very negatively by a candidate and now president.

“You’re asking my personal opinion; I think it’s really incumbent upon any individual who leads the country to step away from those types of statements, to apologize for those statements and retract them. And then to turn the page, and then to move forward in embracing their community, all parts of that community. Until that happens, it wouldn’t be my preference to have the president come throw a pitch. But that’s up to the ownership as to what they would like to do there.”

Angelos is just the latest in baseball to express concerns over President Trump’s demeanor and policies. Perhaps the most notable came last weekend when Dexter Fowler was understandably critical of the overturned Muslim ban, which he says impacted the family of his wife.

It’s not just limited to baseball or sports in general though. There are a lot of strong feelings being expressed everywhere. But the Angelos family has a loud enough voice to capture some attention and make people listen.

As of now, there are no plans for Trump to make an opening day appearance in Baltimore or another location on opening day. It’s worth addressing though for Baltimore. Given their proximity to Washington D.C., the Orioles have welcomed several members from the executive branch to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama were the most recent during President Obama’s first term in office.

It just doesn’t seem likely to happen again any time soon.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!