Dodgers remove group from Pride Night due to ‘controversy’

The Los Angeles Dodgers are removing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a San Francisco-based performance organization, from their 10th annual Pride Night slated for June 16th after the inclusion of the sisters “has been the source of some controversy,” per a statement the team released Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a charity group that includes drag performers who dress as nuns and “use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit,” according to the sisters’ website. 
• The Dodgers decided to rescind the sisters’ Pride Night invitation due to “the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night,” per the statement.
• Other organizations, including The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and LA Pride, which puts on the LA Pride Parade and Festival, announced they would not participate in the Dodgers’ event in a show of solidarity.

Backstory

The decision to remove the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from Pride Night comes after Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio wrote a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred on May 15 asking if including the performance group would be “inclusive and welcoming to Christians.”

NHL Pride events sparked headlines this season as three teams — the Blackhawks, Rangers and Wild — declined to wear Pride jerseys during Pride Night. Multiple players, including Flyers’ defenseman Ivan Provorov and Panthers’ Marc and Eric Staal, chose not to participate in their respective teams’ LGBTQ+ events.

The NHL does not have any information to suggest that its Russian players are facing “material” threats, either in Russia or elsewhere, if they choose to participate in teams’ Pride night activities, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic on March 24.

What they’re saying

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence shared a statement Thursday to express “their deep offense and outrage” at the Dodgers’ decision.

(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)