DOD says it ‘mistakenly removed’ Jackie Robinson, other content from website amid DEI purge

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The Pentagon said Wednesday that in "rare cases" it may have deliberately or mistakenly removed some webpages in efforts to remove diversity, equity and inclusion content after a tribute to Jackie Robinson's Army service was suddenly scrubbed from a Department of Defense's website.

A DOD official told ABC News that the Robinson webpage, among other content recently removed from Pentagon websites, was "mistakenly removed" due to the search terms used to scrub DEI terms from platforms.

The official said Robinson's page and others that were unpublished, including content honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the Enola Gay, the Navajo Code Talkers, history-making female fighter pilots and the Marines at Iwo Jima, would be republished.

Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said in a statement to ABC News that "everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson" as well as others whose webpages were removed and will be restored.

Ullyot added that the DOD salutes many of these military heroes and does "not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex."

"We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like ever other American who has worn the uniform," Ullyot said, saying DEI initiatives "divide the force."

"We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms," he added. "In the rare cases that content is removed -- either deliberately or by mistake -- that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period.”

It was not clear which terms in the Robinson story, published by DOD News, led to its removal.

Ahead of the DOD saying the webpage removal was a mistake, Jackie Robinson Foundation Chairman Leonard Coleman, the former National League president, told ESPN that Robinson "represents America at its best."

"Removing an icon and Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient from government websites represents America at its worst," he added.

According to an online archive of the story, which was a part of a series on "Sports Heroes Who Served," Robinson was "assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas," after being drafted in 1942.

It recounted Robinson's arrest in 1944 after an Army bus driver ordered Robinson "to move to the back of the bus, but Robinson refused."

The story, which the Pentagon said would be restored, noted that Robinson in his baseball career "did experience a lot of hatred from fans and other baseball players who felt that Black players should not be allowed in Major League Baseball."

Still, in a statement given to ABC News, Ullyot defended the removal of DEI from the DOD, saying it is "a form of Woke cultural Marxism."

"As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department," Ullyot said.

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