Nationals pitcher 'deeply troubled' by Dodgers' decision to reinvite Pride Night group
Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams wrote on social media Tuesday that he was "deeply troubled" by the Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to reinvite The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an activist group, for their annual Pride Night.
The 31-year-old added that the Dodgers' decision to "invite and honor a group" that "makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery" of Catholicism is a "clear violation of the Dodgers Discrimination Policy."
Williams and the Nationals open up a two-game series at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. It'll be the first matchup between the senior circuit's best and worst teams this season.
The Dodgers announced in mid-May that they had removed the group from Pride Night after receiving backlash. The team then apologized and reinvited The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence last week.
The Dodgers' 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night will be on June 16.
The activist group has participated in community outreach since its inception in the 1970s and is known for its use of nun habits in drag performances that satirize and criticize anti-gay stances from the Catholic Church.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on Monday, Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw was also outspoken on his team's decision to reinvite The Sisters. The future Hall-of-Famer said he disagreed with the Dodgers' choice and that he approached the team about "expediting his announcement of the club's relaunching of Christian Faith and Family Day as a response."
"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 said. "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.)"
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