More than two dozen state legislators from Los Angeles County expressed disappointment with the LA Dodgers for rescinding the invitation of the LGBTQ group of 10y The annual Pride Night event next month.
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgencea group of self-described “lesbian and trans nuns”, were honored with the team’s Community Hero Award.
Instead, they were left out of the June 16 event after the ball club received backlash from Tories, prompting Los Angeles LGBT Center To also opt out of the event.
“As the LA Dodgers prepared to host an event centered around inclusivity, they chose instead to exclude a well-known LGBTQ+ organization with a rich history of philanthropy and community engagement,” the Los Angeles County delegation, which includes 39 members from the California state senate and state assembly, said in a statement. Friday. “These are values that should be celebrated, not suppressed.”
Despite their charitable work, the sisters’ use of Roman Catholic imagery has alarmed some, including Catholic organizations and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, who Wrote a letter of complaint To Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.
“Do you think the Los Angeles Dodgers are ‘inclusive and welcoming’ by awarding an award to a group of gay and transgender people who are willfully mocking and insulting Christians — not just Christians, but nuns, who dedicate their lives to serving others?” Rubio wrote.
In response to Rubio and others, the Dodgers decided to rescind the group invitation.
“Given the strong feelings of people who were offended by the Sisters’ involvement in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits we have witnessed over the years of Pride Night, we have decided to remove them from this year’s cohort of honorees,” the Dodgers said in a statement.
In its decision to withdraw from Pride Night in solidarity with the sisters, the LGBT Center asked the Dodgers to either reconsider their decision or cancel the event.
“Any organization that turns its back on LGBT people at this damning and dangerous inflection point in our nation’s history should not fly the rainbow flag or host Pride Night,” the center said in a statement Thursday. Consistent with our experience partnering with them over the past several years.”
As of Friday, it was unknown if the Dodgers organization was considering either of those options.
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