A good subset of Los Angeles Lakers fans are also fans of the recently-crowned back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Jaxson Hayes is certainly one of them. He was rocking a Dodgers jersey after he played a huge role in the Lakers' 130-120 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night, as he was clearly beaming with pride with the city of LA in celebration.
However, Hayes wasn't initially a Dodgers fan. He was born in Oklahoma and his family moved to Loveland, Ohio when he was just three years old. Due to proximity, there was always going to be one MLB team for Hayes to root for. Loveland was just around 20 miles away from the Cincinnati Reds' home, Great American Ballpark, and Hayes was definitely rooting for the Reds during his younger days.
But now, Hayes is a true Dodgers fan, although one would think that he would have at least felt a bit conflicted when the Reds were destroyed in the 2025 NL Wild Card Round. The Lakers center shared the story of why he's turned sour towards the Reds, as he was called to throw the first pitch on multiple occasions only for the opportunities to be taken away from him.
“I used to be a Reds fan. But then they cancelled on me throwing out the first pitch a few times so I'm now a Dodgers fan,” Hayes said in his postgame presser two days ago, via Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation.
As aggrieved as Hayes might feel to miss out on opportunities to throw a first pitch for the team he grew up rooting for in MLB, he has to be loving life as a Dodgers fan anyway.
Fans bring up Lakers center Jaxson Hayes' checkered past
Hayes may be sour that he hasn't been given an opportunity to throw a first pitch for the Reds. But the Reds simply might be wary of his off-court history. The Lakers center was charged with 12 misdemeanors back in 2021 after getting into a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend. He ultimately received three years of probation and had to attend anti-domestic violence classes.
Fans on social media then sided with the Reds' decision to not allow Hayes to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Great American Ballpark.
“Beats women, checks out,” X user @cmielionaire wrote.
“good on the reds for cancelling on this wife beating pos,” @jordandwolfe10 added.
“They prolly cancelled him throwing the first pitch out after he beat the living s**t out of his girlfriend,” @JDAlexander3 furthered.
