Dodgers remove Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from Pride Night

The Los Angeles Dodgers have removed the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from their Pride Night game after receiving controversy this week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have removed the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from their LGBTQ+ Pride Night next month after receiving significant backlash, the team announced on Wednesday.

“In the spirit of unity, the Los Angeles Dodgers are proud to host our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16th. This event has become a meaningful tradition, highlighting not only the diversity and resilience within our fanbase, but also the impactful work of extraordinary community groups,” the statement wrote.

“This year, as part of a full night of programming, we invited a number of groups to join us. 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.

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.”

The Dodgers received significant backlash after the decision; the Dodgers' phone lines were flooded with messages of outrage, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio was among those who sent formal complaints to the MLB's president, Rob Manfred, per the New York Post.

“I write to ask…why you are allowing an MLB team to honor a group that mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith,” the Republican wrote.

The group was also called “a hate group” by Brian Burch, the president of the advocacy group CatholicVote, who said their actions “are blasphemous and deeply offensive to Christians everywhere.”

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are men who dress in imitation of Roman Catholic nuns, with the motto, “go and sin some more.” They were started in 1979 and describe themselves as “a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.”

The decision to remove the group will probably also lead to backlash for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they will go ahead without the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on Jun. 16.