After Backlash, L.A. Dodgers Issue Full Apologize to Drag Artists And Re-Invite Them to Pride Night

After initially inviting The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to their annual Pride Night as their honored guests and to present them with a Community Hero Award for their four decades of activism and charity work, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced major backlash in the news for uninviting them and rescinding the award. They made this pathetic decision because both the Catholic League and P.O.S Florida Senator Marco Rubio complained to Major League Baseball about the drag artists' presence and award; in a move of absolute cowardice, the Dodgers caved. Well, it would seem the Dodgers have changed course once again and have issued a full apology to the Sisters, as well as re-invited them to be honored at Pride Night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are offering their apologies and re-inviting the LA Sisters to be honored at their Pride Night. Please see the official comms from the Dodgers, and the LA Sisters.
Love always win! pic.twitter.com/9llgSSTnRE

— The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (@SFSisters) May 23, 2023

In an official statement from the team, the Dodgers said, "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." Adding, "We have asked the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to take their place on the field at our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16th. We are pleased to share that they have agreed to receive the gratitude of our collective communities for the lifesaving work that they have done tirelessly for decades."

The Sisters graciously accepted the apology and shared both the Dodgers' statement, as well as their own on their social media accounts. In addition to accepting their apology and saying they felt it was one of genuine remorse (I'd hope so!), the Sisters also said that they will be working with the team and community leaders to educate them on how best to address hate going forward, and to make sure they're all aligned in their responses.

Being the whiny loser that he is, Marco Rubio has posted numerous tweets complaining about the team's decision, calling it an act of bullying. Oh, the irony.

Shamefully, (but not surprisingly) the @dodgers have been bullied into apologizing to & “re-inviting” a group of anti-catholic bigots

Today our great country is controlled by socio-political ruling elites who don’t just tolerate anti-Christian bigotry, they encourage &… https://t.co/YcVqkqaoDy

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 23, 2023

The Catholic League had originally tweeted that the initial invitation/award rescinding was a "victory." Unsurprisingly, they have also gone on a multi-tweet whine session calling the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence "bigots." Again... oh, the irony. They posted five separate tweets on the matter, including the release of a "report" on the Sisters, as well as a mailing list blast to their members.

The backlash to the Dodgers' initial decision was swift and severe with allies around the world offering up their support. In a true display of support and allyship, Anaheim, CA Mayor Ashleigh Aitken issued a statement condemning the Dodgers' decision, as well as offering a formal invite to the Sisters to be guests at the Anaheim Angels' Pride Night on June 7th, along with the hashtag #CityOfKindness.

️‍ I’m inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to join me for @Angels Pride Night at Anaheim Stadium on June 7. Pride should be inclusive and like many, I was disappointed in the Dodgers decision. #CityofKindness #Anaheim

— Mayor Ashleigh Aitken (@AshleighAitken) May 20, 2023

It's 2023 and the LGBTQ+ community still is under constant attack from both the GOP and religious fanatics, which is why it's more important than ever for us to stick together and to rally in the face of hate. Kudos to the Dodgers for seeing the error of their ways, kudos to the Anaheim Angels for stepping up to the plate, and kudos to the Queer community and its allies for coming together to make sure that hate did not win.

Fleshbot: Plug In Get Off.
Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.