This week, an anti-diversity purge throughout the United States government targeted one of MLB's most beloved figures in Hall of Fame infielder Jackie Robinson.

Robinson—the first Black man to play American or National League baseball in the 20th century—served in the army from 1942 to '44, attaining the rank of second lieutenant. On Tuesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that the Department of Defense had deleted an article covering Robinson's military service.

A day later, the department sent ESPN two highly contradictory statements regarding the removal. The first defended the decision—chalking it up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's broader anti-diversity program.

"As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department," the statement read. "Discriminatory equity ideology is a form of woke cultural Marxism that has no place in our military. It divides the force, erodes unit cohesion and interferes with the services' core warfighting mission. We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. 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 accordingly."

DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, not “discriminatory equity ideology,” as the statement implies.

The second, clearer statement, expressed appreciation for Robinson's service while continuing to defend the Trump Administration's anti-diversity policies.

"Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others—we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop," the updated statement read. "We do 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 [sic] other American who has worn the uniform.

"... We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. 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.”

Initially, as Passan pointed out, the department did not repost the article; it was eventually reinstated without a URL that referenced diversity, equity and inclusion. Passan went on to outline the specifics of Robinson's military service.

Per Passan, MLB—which retired Robinson's number throughout the game in 1997—was looking into the matter before the article's reinstatement. Robinson, who championed several Republican causes in his life, died in 1972.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Department of Defense Restores Jackie Robinson Article After Anti-Diversity Wipe.