The Los Angeles Dodgers drew the ire of some of their fans on Wednesday when they withdrew their invitation to join a comedy group dedicated to the LBGTQ+ cause at their annual Pride night.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group that bills itself as an “order of ‘queer’ and transgender nuns” and has donated more than $1 million to organizations protecting marginalized people, was scheduled to speak at the Dodger on June 16 Stadium to accept the Community Hero Award.
However, the extravagance of this group ultimately prevented them from being honored at the 10th Annual Dodgers Pride Night. According to USA Today, complaints from several Catholic organizations and Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio have persuaded the California club to turn around.
According to Rubio, who has been on a crusade against drag queens and the LGBTQ+ cause for several years, the tribute to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence would not be “inclusive and welcoming” to the Christians attending the game.
The Dodgers released a statement Wednesday justifying their decision.
“We are aware that the inclusion of a specific group – the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence – in our Pride night is controversial. Due to the strong feelings of people who are offended by their presence […] We have decided to remove them from our list of honored bands.”
For their part, the group concerned has stated that they will not let this decision dampen their enthusiasm.
“While we will not be attending Dodgers Pride Night, we will take to the streets of Los Angeles to continue to serve our community,” the statement said.
The Dodgers aren’t the first sports organization to make a controversial LGBTQ+ decision. This season, several teams in the National Hockey League decided not to wear a rainbow jersey when warming up before their Pride night. The New York Islanders and Rangers, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues were blamed for the decision.