The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing major criticism ahead of their upcoming LGBTQ+ Pride Night, a planned 10-year celebration of diversity and inclusion at Dodger Stadium on June 16, for the team’s decision to pull the plug.
The club announced on Wednesday that it would no longer honor it Sisters of Eternal Pleasure With its Social Hero award at a pregame ceremony that evening, the charity, which uses humor and religious imagery to draw attention to sexual intolerance, effectively disinvited protest and street performance organizations.
The decision came after Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, wrote a letter to the Major League after intense pressure from conservative Catholic organizations including the Catholic League and Catholic Vote, which led to several groups pulling out of the event. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred questioned whether the addition of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence would be “inclusive and welcoming to Christians.”
In They announce their decision, the Dodgers noted that LGBTQ+ Pride Night “has become a meaningful tradition that not only highlights the diversity and resilience in our fan base, but also the impactful work of queer community groups.” However, the group added: “Given the strong feelings of those who were offended by the inclusion of the sisters on our evening, and in an effort not to detract from the great benefits we have seen Pride Night over the years, we have decided to remove them from the honor roll this year.”
By Thursday, what should have been a celebration at Dodger Stadium had turned into a lightning rod of controversy. And based on the impasse, the club is working internally on possible compromise solutions with the power holding the system in place, a board official said.
It remains to be seen what form the event will take in light of the exits of various groups.
Los Angeles LGBT Center Condemned the Dodgers’ decision On Thursday, the group called on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to either change its position or cancel the Bright Night altogether.
In part, the center’s statement reads: “Out of state, the Dodgers have helped religious minorities who bow to pressure from right-wing fundamentalists and perpetuate a false narrative about LGBTQ+ people. They have been fed lies about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and have contributed to the ongoing anti-LGBTQ smear campaign in this country.
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California It was announced that day On Wednesday night, in solidarity with the Sisters of Perpetual Pleasure, “We will not participate in Bright Night.” The organization pointed out that the Dodgers had previously been “champions of inclusion,” having broken baseball’s color line with Jackie Robinson in 1947.
In a third major blow, LA Pride, organizers of the LA Pride Parade and Festival, said Thursday night that their organization They will not attend the event. The group, which claims to have organized the world’s first sanctioned march for gay rights in 1970, said it was “deeply disappointed” in what it described as a long-time partner.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were founded in 1979 in San Francisco. According to the group’s website, its members are dedicated to “community service, ministry and outreach to the marginalized, and the promotion of human rights, diversity and spiritual enlightenment.” The setting uses “humor and irreverent wit to expose the bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
The group’s members, who describe themselves as a “front line of queer and trans nuns,” typically wear religious motifs similar to nuns’ habits.
The Los Angeles branch of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which has been actively serving the community’s LGBTQ community for 27 years, will receive the award from the Dodgers.
In A statement expressing disappointment The Dodgers have “yielded to pressure from individuals outside the state of California and outside our community” and “have chosen to align themselves with us in our service to the public,” the committee continued. say:
“We’re both crazy and serious. We use our charity and our message in service, which is ‘every person has a place in our world to live as they are, without shame or guilt, in love and joy. On their own.’
“We want to point out that while our LGBTQIA community is currently being attacked by a small group of extremists in an attempt to push back societal progress, they are a small minority and do not represent the majority of Americans who live in support of a country. Page in our great melting pot.”
For the Dodgers, Pride Night has become a growing and essential component each season. Last year, for the first time, the Dodgers wore custom, rainbow-colored logo caps. Nights of the Season.”
Last year’s Pride Night closed a circle of sorts by honoring Glenn Burke, the first major league player to come out as gay, who was traded to Oakland in 1978 and turned down the team’s offer to donate $75,000 to a nice honeymoon if he wanted. Marry a woman. The trade doesn’t make sense unless you know about Burke’s personal life.
Burke was close friends with Tommy Lasorta Jr., who was also gay and died in 1991 of complications from AIDS. The Dodgers moved to honor Burke on Pride only after the team’s Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorta, died in 2021. the night Nevertheless, more than 40 of Burke’s family and friends traveled to Los Angeles for the event.
“These celebrations are important,” tennis superstar Billie Jean King, Dodgers minority owner and honorary lifetime chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, told The Times last year. “For a moment, you slow down and think about what is being celebrated, think about the deep meaning and the fun part.
“There is much to celebrate. But we also have to be very vigilant.”
