The Los Angeles Dodgers apologized and announced they have reinvited LGBTQ group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in their Pride Night festivities next month after receiving backlash for their initial decision to disinvite the group.
“After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations within 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 of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the team said in a statement posted to Twitter on Monday.
The 2020 World Series champions also said they asked the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ advocacy group, to take the field June 16 and receive an award for their work in the Los Angeles community.
“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,” the statement concluded.
Last week, the Dodgers disinvited the group from their Pride Night event, saying in a then statement that the decision was made due to “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 team said in a now-deleted statement on Twitter.
That decision came after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred last Monday, objecting to the group’s award, saying the team was giving an award to a group that “intentionally mocks and degrades” Christians and nuns.
In a statement, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence said they are proud to accept the Community Hero Award from the team, adding they were given a “full apology and explanation” from the team on the matter.
“This affair has been an opportunity for learning with a silver lining. 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,” the group said in its statement. “With great love and respect, we thank each person and each organization that have spoken up for us. Thank you, and may your hearts be blessed with pure joy.”