The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB), having won a total of seven World Series titles and twenty-four National League pennants since their founding in Brooklyn. The team is valued at $4.8 billion, second only to the New York Yankees in MLB.
Why would such a successful franchise honor a hate group, the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI)?” This detestable organization regularly mocks Catholics and offends all Christians by their blasphemous portrayals of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, using the cross as a stripper pole.
SPI is composed of men who sacrilegiously portray Catholic nuns by wearing gaudy make-up and outlandish costumes. On their website, the group claims they are a “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.” Their official motto is “go and sin some more” and in a recent statement maintained that their mission is to “expose the forces of bigotry, complacency, and guilt that chain the human spirit.”
After initially deciding to honor SPI at their “Pride Night” celebration, the Dodgers received justified criticism from Catholics and Christians, so they rescinded the invitation. Then, after receiving intense blowback from LGBTQ+ activists, the Dodgers reissued their invitation to honor the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence'' at their “Pride Night” celebration, which was held last Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers offered their “sincerest apologies” to the “Sisters,” who accepted their request for forgiveness and noted that the team “worked for 10 years with our community and as well they have asked us to continue an ongoing relationship with them.”
On Friday night, the group was represented by two “Sisters” who were acknowledged and honored well before the start of the Dodgers game. In front of a sparse crowd of supporters, the team made an announcement that the group was recognized for “their outstanding service to the LGBTQ+ community” and received a “Community Heroes Award.”
The power of the LGBTQ+ movement is obvious because the Dodgers decided to recognize a fringe organization, while offending a much larger group. The team must have made the decision that it was a better course of action to placate the LGBTQ+ community rather than the millions of Catholics throughout Los Angeles and the country.
As SPI was being honored inside the stadium, thousands of Catholics and Christians held protests outside. The crowds were so large that the front entrance to Dodger Stadium was briefly blocked. There was a rally and a mass for the demonstrators who were both peaceful and prayerful. It was inspiring to see so many people of faith protesting the incredibly unwise decision by the Dodgers.
Fortunately, not all the players supported the team’s actions. Two Dodger players, Clayton Kershaw, and Blake Treinen expressed their opposition to the “Sisters” being honored. Of course, everyone should realize that an MLB organization like the Dodgers should have only one priority, winning baseball games.
All other activities, such as affiliating with an organization that mocks a religion practiced by 1.3 billion people around the world is not only a distraction, it is also quite harmful. Certainly, among the fan base of the Dodgers, are millions of Catholics and only a handful of followers of the recognized hate group.
As noted by famed Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling in an interview on Fox News, the decision by the Dodgers to affiliate with the “Sisters” will only please “10,000 trans people” in Los Angeles and even that figure is “probably pushing it.” He believes that these activists are not fans and “will never step foot in Dodger Stadium again.”
Even worse, by honoring SPI, a much larger group, practicing Catholics and Christians, has been offended. The decision is perplexing for a team that has previously been quite successful. It will hurt the Dodgers both financially and with their fan base.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers are following a pattern established in recent years by many other major American corporations. Small groups, such as transgender activists, are being celebrated and championed, regardless of the impact on large numbers of consumers.
For example, the retail giant Target affiliated with a designer who featured satanic merchandise on his website. Bud Light chose to highlight a transgender activist, Dylan Mulvaney, in commercials and on a commemorative beer can. The results have been devastating with a combined loss of $40 billion in market value for Target and Bud Light.
Clearly, the Dodgers knew the negative impact of honoring SPI, but decided to proceed anyway. According to Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org, the Dodgers chose to affiliate with a hate group and “slap Catholics in the face.” Burch predicted that the Dodgers would become “the Bud Light of Baseball” for honoring such a “vile” organization.
Burch believes that the negative response to the Dodgers will grow as “more Catholics in Los Angeles learn about this” and more will become “ashamed” that the team decided to give such an “honor” to a group that engages in “sacrilegious” anti-Catholic activities.
Despite the horrific decision by the Dodgers, the response from faithful Catholics has been encouraging. Burch’s organization launched a massive advertising campaign criticizing the Dodgers for their decision. In addition, the group Catholics for Catholics organized the successful rally outside Dodger Stadium. On their Twitter page, the Catholic activists touted the “Massive outpouring” at the rally with an attendance over “5K Strong.”
The backlash has begun to these woke corporate decisions, whether it involves a brand of beer, a retailer, or a baseball team. Americans are starting to realize what is happening in corporations and are registering their strong disapproval, which can be expressed in ways such as rallies at Dodger Stadium or using their economic power as in the case of Bud Light and Target.
These are welcome developments, and it is appropriate that the “Silent Majority” of Americans start acting. Millions of Americans need to reevaluate what sports teams to support, where to shop and what products to purchase. Americans must no longer affiliate with any organization that mocks their values.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-11 a.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com