The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-invited The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the team’s Pride Night following a public outcry after the Dodgers rescinded the activist organization’s initial invitation to the event.
“After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations with 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], members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the team said in a statement, adding that the group has “agreed to receive the gratitude of our collective of our collective communities for the lifesaving work that they have done tirelessly for decades.”
Following conservative backlash — bolstered by Sen. Marco Rubio’s plea that “drag queen performers should NOT be celebrated for their disgraceful imitation of Roman Catholic nuns” — the Dodgers said in a statement on May 17 that the inclusion of the Sisters in Pride Night had been “the source of some controversy.” The statement continued, “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.”
After the Sisters were removed from the Dodgers’ Pride Night, LA Pride dropped out of the event in solidarity, writing, “Pride is a fight for equality and inclusion for the entire LGBTQ community and we’re not going to stop now.” At the time, the Sisters wrote that they were “offended and outraged” by the team’s decision to rescind their invitation and succumb to “pressure” and “misleading information.”
The Sisters, a longstanding San Francisco drag performance group protesting hate and satirizing Catholicism with queer and trans “nuns,” wrote in their own statement that they are “proud to accept the Community Hero Award from the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
The Sisters’ statement, posted to Facebook, adds, “A full apology and explanation was given to us by the Dodgers staff which we accept… Our group has been strengthened, protected and uplifted to a position where we may now offer our message of hope and joy to far more people than before.”
This comes as 18 states across the country have passed laws targeting trans people and drag performers, while over a dozen more have bills pending.
Per the Dodgers’ new statement: “In the weeks ahead, we will continue to work with our LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves, find ways to strengthen the ties that bind and use our platform to support all of our fans who make up the diversity of the Dodgers family.”
Read the full statement below:
