US President Joe Biden heaped praises on the sports community for its ability to heal and bring a nation together in a time of crisis. The comments came as he hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House on Friday.

The Dodgers became the first sports team to be hosted at the White House since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They had lifted the baseball World Series title by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in October 2020. 

“I think what we discovered is that we need sports more than we ever realized,” the Associated Press quoted Biden as saying. He also praised baseball as an important totem of normalcy in “one of the most challenging years” in US history.

Biden praised Dodgers as “a lot more than a baseball club, they are a pillar of American culture.” He also saluted the club for using its stadium as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site.

Dodger’s future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw presented Biden a team jersey with the president’s name and number. Biden teased the team, saying that he was demonstrating that he was “a man of courage” by holding the jersey up because he risked incurring the wrath of First Lady Jill Biden, a rabid Philadelphia Phillies fan.

The ceremony at the White House was starkly different from the ones with political overtones that became a hallmark during the presidency of Donald Trump. Some title teams, like the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles, skipped the ceremony altogether while others, like the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox, only sent small delegations and many players opted to stay away from it.

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, who is accused of allegedly assaulting a woman during what he says was consensual sex, skipped the event. He has denied the allegations.