The Dodgers issue a mea culpa.
LA’s Major League Baseball team sparked a storm of controversy after withdrawing an invitation for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — a charitable drag group who dress like nuns — to accept a “community hero award” on the field of Dodger Stadium on June 16 LGBTQ+ Pride Night.
But the Dodgers apologized and reversed that decision on Monday.
“After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” read a statement on Twitter.
The original decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual and withdraw the award came in response complaints from the Catholic League and other Catholic groups and leaders, who accused the organization of being an “anti-Catholic hate group” that “mocks the process of becoming a Catholic nun”.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio echoed those sentiments and even went so far as to do so fire a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred claiming that “the ‘sisters’ are men who dress in lewd imitation of Roman Catholic nuns. The group’s motto, ‘go and sin some more’, is a perversion of Jesus’ command to ‘go and sin no more’.”
According to the Los Angeles Timeswere the team offices and Manfred’s own offices inundated with phone calls of Catholics outraged at the decision to host the group.
But within the Dodger organization, LGBTQ and Ally employees were equally outraged by the little one. The LA LGBT Center issued a boycott of Pride Night and demanded it be canceled altogether.
On Saturday, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken tweeted an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in Angels Pride Night at Anaheim Stadium on June 7.
But now it seems there is a path to reconciliation — at least between the Dodgers and the LGBTQ community.
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence accepted the Dodgers’ apology and agreed to accept the award “for the lifesaving work they have done tirelessly for decades” at the June 16 event, marking the 10th anniversary of Pride Nights at the Dodger Stage.
The team also vows to “educate ourselves better” and “use our platform to support all of our fans” going forward.
Founded in San Francisco in 1979, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was one of the first groups to fundraise and provide community outreach in response to the AIDS crisis. Since then, they have raised over $1 million for various causes that affect the LGBTQ+ community.
