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#MLB players say drag troupe invited to Dodgers’ Pride Night mocks Christianity

Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and Washington Nationals hurler Trevor Williams tore into the former’s Los Angeles Dodgers for holding a Pride Night event that will include a popular, satirical drag troupe.

The Dodgers earlier this month rescinded their invite to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the team’s annual LGBTQ Pride event on June 16, before doing a second 180 and reinviting the decadesold charitable group of performers, who describe themselves as a “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.”

But rather than putting the dispute to bed, the Dodgers’ invitation, rejection and reengagement with the the Sisters apparently has sparked anger among the two high-profile players, who believe the group is anti-Catholic.

“As a devout Catholic, I am deeply troubled by the Dodgers’ decision to re-invite and honor the group ‘The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ at their Pride Night this year,” Williams said in a statement Tuesday. “To invite and honor a group that makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery of my religion, and the religion of over 4 million people in Los Angeles county alone, undermines the values of respect and inclusivity that should be upheld by any organization.”

Representatives for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Last week, at the behest of Kershaw, the Dodgers hastily scheduled a “Christian Faith and Family Day” at Dodger Stadium on July 30.

The Christian event had been regularly held at Dodger Stadium, with Kershaw as a primary organizer, through 2019. It hadn’t been held since the pandemic, and Kershaw said he set on relaunching the event this year — speeding up the planning once his team went forward with Pride Night with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (by the Dodgers).”

Kershaw, a sure-fire Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher, insisted he has no other issue with the LGBTQ community and won’t boycott his team’s June 16 date with the San Francisco Giants.

“This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or Pride or anything like that,” said Kershaw, a native of suburban Dallas. “This is simply a group that was making fun of a religion, that I don’t agree with.”

Williams went a step further than Kershaw and called for Catholics to think twice about backing the Dodgers, one of the oldest and most storied franchises in baseball.

“I also encourage my fellow Catholics to reconsider their support of an organization that allows this type of mockery of its fans to occur,” Williams, a native of San Diego, said. “I know I am not alone in my frustration, hurt, and disappointment about this situation.”

Also on Tuesday, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass apologized for asking consumers and his social media followers to not patronize companies, such as Target and Bud Light, that support LGBTQ rights.

“I recognize yesterday ​​I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine,” Bass said in a statement he read to reporters, ahead of Toronto’s game against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. “I am truly sorry for that.”

Bass said he spoke to teammates about his social media post and promised to “educate myself.”

“As of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward,” said Bass, a native of suburban Detroit. “The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark. We want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say.”

A representative for Major League Baseball could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday and a spokesman for the MLB Players Association, the union representing players, declined to discuss the matter.

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