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The Los Angeles Dodgers said they wanted to “highlight the diversity and resilience” of LGBTQ fans at the baseball team’s upcoming Pride Night, though they did not invite the beloved group known for its decades of fundraising work and support for the LGBTQ community.
After objections from Catholic groups and some Republicans, the Major League Baseball team withdrew plans to honor the local chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a network of volunteers known for doing charity work and activism while wearing eccentric drag as nuns.
On Wednesday – which is also the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – the Dodgers announced on Twitter that they have withdrawn the invitation to the group to receive the Community Hero Award at the event on June 16 “in an effort not to disturb the great people. benefits we have seen in the year of Pride Night.”
The Dodgers’ move follows a season of controversy in major league hockey, which has seen several NHL teams cancel plans for players to wear rainbow Pride shirts during Pride Night warmups or allow players to participate in events based on their religious or perceived beliefs. concerns from some Russian players about violating anti-LGBTQ laws in their home countries.
The Dodgers’ decision to withdraw from honoring the Sisters’ work also comes as lawmakers in the U.S. enacted laws affecting LGBTQ and transgender rights, including access to gender-affirming treatment for transgender people, restrictions on drag performances and restrictions on LGBTQ-related material. inclusive in school.
Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence said saddened by the announcement.
“We are disappointed that they have chosen not to engage with us during our ongoing service to the public,” the group said said on the website.
Dodgers attack LGBTQ groups
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were formed in San Francisco in 1979 and have grown into chapters in the US and around the world, including in Canada.
Often referred to as “drag nuns,” the Sisters have been stalwarts in the LGBTQ community, promoting human rights, challenging sexual intolerance, and raising money for various causes including to support people living with HIV/AIDS.
Two weeks ago, the Dodgers praised the work of the LA chapter on Pride Night news releasesaid the organization will be honored at the event by the team and its owners, including tennis legend Billie Jean King and his wife Ilana Kloss, who are among the team’s minority owners.
The 10th annual event is held in cooperation with LA Pride organizers. CBC News is awaiting a response from the LA Pride regarding the Dodgers’ announcement.
Other LGBTQ organizations strongly condemned the team.
“At a time when drag performers are under attack across the country – including in state legislatures and in some cases requiring armed guards to protect them from far-right extremists – the Dodgers’ actions are disappointing and disappointing to the thousands of LGBTQ+ fans who have supported them over the years,” he said. Executive Director of Equality California Tony Hoang in a statement.
“Let’s be clear. This is not inclusion. LGBTQ rights and inclusion are rooted in protest and education. [and] controversy, out of the way for others to do the right thing,” read a tweet from Tony Morrison, Senior Director of Communications for GLAAD, the leading LGBTQ rights organization in the US
Well-known drag performers have also participated.
“The Dodgers are doing it wrong by powering the bigots,” RuPaul’s Drag Race star BenDeLaCreme said in an Instagram post.
“The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are community leaders and activists and are responsible for helping to save lives and care for the dying during the AIDS crisis,” the post read, along with a call to donate money to the group.
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Catholic League for Religion and Civil Rights declare “victory,” with its president, Bill Donohue, celebrating the pressure the organization’s followers put on the baseball team. He previously accused the Dodgers of being an “anti-Catholic reward.”
“Justice has been done in the end. There is no room for anti-Catholics at gay or trans celebrations,” Donahue told the group. website.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who vote against codifying same-sex marriage earlier this year and introduced bill to reinstate the ban on transgender people in the military, was among the leading voices criticizing the intention of the Dodgers to celebrate Sisters, in a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred earlier this week.
“The ‘brother’ is a rich imitation of a Roman Catholic nun. The group’s motto, ‘go and sin again,’ is a perversion of Jesus’ command to ‘go, and sin again,'” he wrote.
Canadian NHL players Mark and Eric Staal recently joined several others who refused to wear Pride-themed warm-up shirts in support of the LGBTQ community. This sparked a debate about inclusivity and personal freedom in pro-hockey.
The Sisters describe their members as including all genders, religions and romantic affiliations who are committed to “serving our people as nuns from other cultures serve them.”
In response to the Dodgers’ announcement and criticism, the Sisters have vowed to soldier on with its work in the LGBTQ community, according to its mantra.
“If being true to ourselves with love, joy and pride is a sin, then we … will do what we have always done. said.
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