Clayton Kershaw belongs in the All-Star Game.Photo: Denis Poroy / Getty Images Sport
PitcherClayton Kershawis speaking out about the timing of two upcoming promotions at Dodger Stadium.In response to the Los Angeles Dodgers extending an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during an upcoming Pride Night celebration at the park, the nine-time All-Startold theLos Angeles Timesthat he expedited his own announcement that the ball club would celebrate Christian Faith Day this year — for the first time since 2019.
The Dodgers’ own history with the Sisters, who are a “leading edge Order of queer and trans nuns,” has also not been a straight line of late.
Earlier this month, the MLB teaminitially bowed to conservative criticsand rescinded its offer to give a Community Hero award to the group, who use “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit,”according to their website.
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But the Dodgers then reversed the decision last week.
“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 club said in a statement.
The organization also noted that they would “continue to work with our LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves.”
By late last week, the National League West-leading franchise also announced that it was bringing back Christian Faith Day, and retweeted Kershaw’s announcement on Twitter.
The three-time Cy Young award winner has been vocal over the years about his views on religion. Yet the Dallas native, who founded the Christian charity Kershaw’s Challenge along with his wife, Ellen, told theTimesthat he doesn’t have faith in the Sisters’ beliefs.
“I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” he said. “It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don’t think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else’s religion. So that’s something that I definitely don’t agree with.”He added, “For us, we felt like the best thing to do in response was, instead of maybe making a statement condemning or anything like that, would be just to instead try to show what we do support, as opposed to maybe what we don’t. And that was Jesus. So to make Christian Faith Day our response is what we felt like was the best decision.”
source: people.com
