Rusty Weiss
Team USA got a serious dose of American steel when manager Mark DeRosa brought in Navy SEAL legend Robert O’Neill — the man who took Osama bin Laden out during the 2011 raid — to speak to the squad in the locker room a couple of days before their quarterfinal win over Canada.
O’Neill rolled into Houston, dropped the story of that historic night, and reminded a bunch of millionaire ballplayers what real pressure, real courage, and real sacrifice actually look like.
While other countries were busy dancing in the dugout, the Americans were getting a history lesson from one of the baddest dudes this country has ever seen.
Robert O’Neill, the leader of Navy SEAL Team Six, who killed Osama Bin Laden, spoke to Team USA baseball before their game vs Canada
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 14, 2026
🇺🇸 America is so back 🇺🇸 #WorldBaseballClassic
pic.twitter.com/3zyVDSkVBk
Robert O’Neill Fires Up Team USA WBC Squad as Mark DeRosa Defends Bringing in the Bin Laden Raider
You may or may not be surprised to learn that the liberal media were outraged over this move. (Which is odd, since they could use it as a good reminder that it was Barack Obama who got Bin Laden).
That said, when the usual woke suspects on social media melted down and started whining about “war culture” and “tacky” choices, DeRosa didn’t flinch. Not a bit.
He owned the decision from the jump.
“That was my decision to bring him in,” DeRosa said, according to the outlet Defector. “He was brought in, actually, a couple of days in Houston. It wasn’t before the Canada game.”
“I think for me there has to be … you never want it to get lost why you’re doing this,” he added. “Whatever that ‘why’ is and a lot of people, like Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I want to do this for every service man and woman that protects our freedom. That’s why we wear USA across our chest.’”
why did Team USA bring in Robert J O'Neill to talk to the team? manager Mark DeRosa said it was his idea. pic.twitter.com/RTdpwNvRJO
— jen ramos-eisen (@jenramose) March 15, 2026
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And ya know what? He’s right. At least he was this time.
Look, nobody’s pretending DeRosa didn’t pull one of the all-time boneheaded moves earlier in the tournament when he went on MLB Network bragging that Team USA’s “ticket was punched” to the quarterfinals before the Italy game — only to realize they still had to sweat out some tiebreakers.
That was embarrassing as hell and gave the critics plenty of ammo.
But on this one? DeRosa is 100% right. Bringing in a genuine American hero like O’Neill isn’t controversial — it’s something to be admired. If you’re gonna wear USA across your chest, you better damn well understand what that actually means.