Christian Dodgers Star Breaks Silence on LGBT Group Controversy, Points to Jesus
Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw said he disapproves of the team’s decision to honor a blasphemous LGBT group during an upcoming game, but he was able to use the event to bring back the team’s Christian Faith and Family Day.
“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.
“Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” he said, adding that Friday’s announcement of the July event was “my idea.”
This month, the Dodgers invited, disinvited and then re-invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the team’s “LGBTQ Pride Night” event June 16. The second invitation came after an outcry from liberal groups.
The group uses imagery of Catholic nuns and even Christ himself for sexualized drag performances.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will receive a “Community Hero Award” from the Dodgers during the team’s LGBT event, according to the Times.
Kershaw said the team should not have invited the group.
“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.”
The star pitcher said he and his wife, Ellen, and others talked about the right way to respond. He also held a team meeting about the group and his plans.
“I think in these situations, instead of maybe criticizing or trying to find something wrong with a group, it’s better just to focus on what you do believe in,” Kershaw said. “For me, that’s Jesus. So I think that was our best response.”
“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,” he said.
Excited to announce the relaunch of Christian Faith and Family Day at Dodger Stadium on July 30th. More details to come— but we are grateful for the opportunity to talk about Jesus and determined to make it bigger and better than it was before COVID. Hope to see you on July 30th! pic.twitter.com/yNu7HyEgR9
— Clayton Kershaw (@ClaytonKersh22) May 26, 2023
The three-time Cy Young award winner made it clear he opposes the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence because of their mockery of the Christian faith.
“This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or pride or anything like that,” Kershaw said. “This is simply a group that was making fun of a religion, that I don’t agree with.”
Kershaw said the team’s Christian event is “our opportunity to be able to kind of share our testimony of what we believe in and why we believe in it, and how that affects our performance on the field.”
“It’s a great opportunity to see the platform that Jesus has given us and how to use that for his glory and not ours,” the pitcher said.
He also said he won’t take his objections as far as a boycott.
“As a follower of Christ, we’re supposed to love everybody well. And I think that means being able to be at a lot of different places and be able to be a part of a lot of different things,” Kershaw said.
Not everyone agrees.
A major Catholic advocacy group is launching a $1 million campaign to promote a boycott of the team after the Dodgers said they would honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
“This is a slap in the face of every Catholic,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch said in a statement May 22. “We’re raising $1 million as fast as we can, and we will pummel this decision in advertising that the Dodgers can’t ignore.”
Catholic Vote president explains why the group is calling for the boycott of the Los Angeles Dodgers: “There’s no need to engage in anti-Catholic mockery.” pic.twitter.com/J3kn1X7yWP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2023
“Every advertiser, every season ticket holder, every charity, every fan must speak out against the Dodgers’ decision to promote anti-Catholic hate,” Burch said. “Why does ‘pride’ have to include honoring the most grotesque and scandalous anti-Catholic perverts?”
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