Dodgers facing backlash after disinviting LGBTQ group from Pride Night

The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing backlash after disinviting an LGBTQ group from its annual Pride Night next month.

The team announced Wednesday it would no longer honor The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which describes itself as “queer nuns,” with a Community Hero Award for the group’s service to the LGBTQ community.

“We are now aware that our inclusion of one group in particular — The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — in this year’s Pride Night has been the source of some controversy,” the Dodgers said in a statement on Twitter.

“Given 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, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees,” it added.

The decision comes after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday, objecting to the group’s award.

“Do you believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers are being ‘inclusive and welcoming to everyone’ by giving an award to a group of gay and transgender drag performers that intentionally mocks and degrades Christians — and not only Christians, but nuns, who devote their lives to serving others?” Rubio said.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence said in a statement that they were saddened to learn the Dodgers were rescinding the award and “succumbing to pressure from persons outside of the State of California and outside of our community.”

“We are both silly and serious. We use our flamboyance in service to our charity work and our message, which is, ‘There is room in our world for each person to be who they are, as they are, free from shame or guilt, and alive in joy and love for their own self,’” they added.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who represents parts of Los Angeles and Long Beach, suggested a boycott of the team’s Pride Night to protest the decision. Garcia is one of 13 LGBTQ members of Congress.

“At a time when the Dodgers should be embracing the strength of our diversity, they are instead trying to divide our LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “Los Angeles is better than this cowardice and deserves better from the Dodgers.”