The Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves embroiled in a contentious situation after retracting their invitation to the LA Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in their upcoming Pride Night.
Initially, the Dodgers had planned to honor the group—LGBTQ+ rights activists known for dressing as drag nuns—with a Community Hero Award, but due to mounting pressure from the Catholic League and Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, they decided to rescind the invitation.
Both Rubio and the President of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, condemned the group, referring to them as "diabolical" and "loathsome" in open letters addressed to Major League Baseball (MLB).
Responding to the outcry, the LA Dodgers released a statement online, expressing their commitment to "unity" and the LGBTQ+ community, though the contents of the statement suggest otherwise.
The team said:
“In the spirit of unity, the Los Angeles Dodgers are proud to host our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16th. This event has become a meaningful tradition, highlighting not only the diversity and resilience within our fanbase, but also the impactful work of extraordinary community groups."
“This year, as part of a full night of programming, we invited a number of groups to join us. We are now aware that our inclusion of one group in particular – The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence – in this year’s pride night has been the source of some controversy."
“Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees.”
You can see the statement below.
In reaction to the Dodgers' reversal, the LA chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence expressed their disappointment through a statement of their own:
“We, the Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, were recently awarded a Community Hero Award by the Los Angeles Dodgers for our twenty-seven years of service to the LGBTQIA community."
"Today, we are sad to learn the Los Angeles Dodgers have chosen to rescind their award, succumbing to pressure from people outside the state of California and outside of our community."
"We are disappointed they have chosen to un-ally themselves with us in our ongoing service to the public, many of whom enjoy the Dodgers heroic efforts in sports.”
The group clarified their mission as a charity organization and human rights activists, emphasizing their dedication to "uplifting marginalized groups":
"Our mission is to uplift our community and all marginalized groups, especially the ones ignored by larger organizations, spiritually oriented or otherwise. We are queer nuns serving our people just as nuns of other cultures serve theirs.”
“We are both silly and serious. We use our flamboyance in service to our charity work and our message, which is ‘There is room in our world for each person to be who they are, as they are, free from shame or guilt, and alive in joy and love for their own self.’”
They concluded with a statement of defiance in the face of the Dodgers capitulating to blatant homophobes and transphobes:
“Our work speaks for us. We do not serve to receive awards or accolades. We are grateful and proud when other organizations choose to acknowledge our service, yet our own focus remains on the work of removing suffering and promulgating joy.”
“If being true to oneself with love, joy and pride is a sin, then we … will do what we always do. We will go out and sin some more.”
You can see the group's statement below.
Of course, the Catholic League was thrilled with the news the group had been disinvited, referring to it as a "victory."
And Rubio himself characterized the rescinded invite as a sign that "common sense" has "prevailed in California."
Fans have reacted angrily to the Dodgers' decision.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence first formed San Francisco in 1979 as a group of gay men advocating for living true to oneself while challenging religious moralizing.
Over time, the group expanded to include members of all genders and evolved into a federally recognized nonprofit, protest group, and street performance troupe.
Their various branches have raised substantial funds for community causes, earning respect and admiration within the queer community, particularly for their early involvement in fundraising during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
