Yesterday I learned there was some bad news for LGBTQ+ fans of the LA Dodgers. News came out that the team was revoking their invite of The Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in the annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night celebration and canceling the award the group was to receive for their work done in the community (per USA Today).
Why were they changing their mind? A group of conservative Catholics said the charity group was “anti-Catholic.” Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who probably doesn’t support the team in the first place, joined the chorus suggesting the Dodgers were unfriendly to the church. Interestingly, I can’t find this announcement on the LA Dodgers’ website, and the folks at Dodgers Nation didn’t cover it either.
The backlash was swift. The “Sisters” said they are going to keep serving the community, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said they won’t participate in the event. The Los Angeles LGBTQ Center revoked their invitation to participate in Pride Night, saying
Buckling to pressure from out-of-state, right-wing fundamentalists, the Dodgers caved to a religious minority that is perpetuating a false narrative about LGBTQ+ people.
They went further and suggested the team either reconsider their decision against the “Sisters” or cancel Pride Night completely.
We call on the Dodgers to reconsider their decision, honor the Sisters, and bring the true spirit of Pride back to Dodgers Stadium. If the decision is not reversed, we strongly encourage the Dodgers to cancel Pride Night. Any organization that turns its back on LGBTQ+ people at this damning and dangerous inflection point in our nation’s history should not be hoisting a rainbow flag or hosting a ‘Pride Night.’
It’s disappointing that this comes from the team that broke the color barrier in major league baseball when they signed Jackie Robinson, an event that was just celebrated by the team a little over a month ago.
I grew up being a fan of the Amazing Mets, but as a high school student in 1976, I became an LA Dodgers fan. After moving to Boston in 1989, people asked me why I didn’t root for the Red Sox, but I told them I was sticking with my Bois en Bleu. When the Dodgers signed serial hater and unindicted sexual predator Trevor Bauer for the 2022 season, I boycotted my team, saying that Bauer shouldn’t be allowed to wear the same uniform as Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax. I started paying attention to the Dodgers again as the postseason approached and was called a bandwagon fan but I explained that I had taken a stand for women Dodger fans.
I have to feel it’s appropriate that two innings after Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam for his 300th career home run, the Cardinals scored 7 runs, including two home runs, to put the game out of reach. I’d say Karma showed Freddie some love but made sure folks knew she wasn’t happy with the team’s ownership.
When I heard about the latest idiotic move by the front office, I told a friend that it’s making it hard for me to support my Bois en Blue. As of this writing, Pride Night is still on the LA Dodgers’ promotional calendar, although you have to look for it because it doesn’t show up on the team’s game schedule.
I’m pulling back on my support of my Dodgers, and unless things change, I’ll find a way to join the protest for Pride Night even if I am about 3,000 miles away. I’m sick of so-called “Christians*” and their hate forcing folks to turn their back on LGBTQ+ folks, essentially giving us the middle finger. It’s time for us to fight back, and if we get in trouble for it, Let it be “good trouble” that makes a difference and not just clutching at pearls.
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*Aren’t Christians supposed to be welcoming and showing God’s love instead of making us want to do anything but be a part of their community?
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