DeSantis Falsely Claims Dodgers Stadium 'Empty' After Pride Backlash
The LA Dodgers' LGBTQ Pride Night turned controversial when an activist group that offended the religious right was invited.
Conservatives touted a video of a nearly empty stadium as a win, claiming they staged a successful boycott.
In reality, the game had higher-than-average attendance as religious groups protested outside.
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Conservatives appear gleeful that they may have just scored another culture war win — this time, through Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
But their claim to have successfully boycotted a Dodgers game for its LGBTQ Pride participation and guests — notably echoed by presidential candidate Ron DeSantis — appears to be false.
Leading up to the team's 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night, the Dodgers disinvited and then re-invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a nonprofit "order of queer and trans nuns," which some religious conservatives found to be offensive to Christianity and Catholicism.
"We have asked the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to take their place on the field at our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16th," the team said in its re-invitation statement shared on Twitter. "We are pleased to share that they have agreed to receive the gratitude of our collective communities for the lifesaving work that they have done tirelessly for decades."
While the satirical group was given a community activism award at Dodgers stadium on Friday, religious groups protested outside the stadium and briefly shut down the main entrance, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recently launched his 2024 presidential bid, tweeted in support of the protesters and claimed the stadium was "virtually empty." Some conservatives circulated photos and videos, which were reportedly taken before the opening pitch, of a near-empty stadium.
"The virtually empty stadium for the game itself was a powerful image," DeSantis said in his tweet. "Americans are fed up with the nonsense and are fighting back."
In reality, Friday's game surpassed the team's average attendance of 47,800 people, according to Forbes.
"Our paid attendance on Friday night was 49,074," Joe Jareck, senior director of public relations for the Dodgers, told Insider in a comment.
Jareck declined to answer Insider's other questions about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the protesters.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — which hosts events for queer youths and adults and pays out grants to small community organizations that cater to marginalized people — shared a statement saying the invitation ordeal came 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. With great love and respect, we thank each person and each organization that have spoken up for us," the group said in a statement on their website.
Source: Business Insider
