After receiving quite a bit of backlash for
inviting a group of drag performers to their Pride Night event, and
then getting massively criticized by a different group of people for
uninviting the drag performers, the Dodgers have now decided to go
through with the Pride event with the drag performers.
But they're trying to do something else in addition to appease
conservative supporters, but really, they're just going back to
doing something they did prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
If this story sounds confusing to you, buckle up, I'll give you all the details.
Here's the play-by-play breakdown of what happened.
So this controversy all started when the Dodgers had announced that
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence would be receiving
the Team's Community Hero Award during their 10th annual Pride event.
So they've been doing this Pride event for ten years straight with no issue, but
because of the inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,
all of a sudden there's all this backlash.
The Sisters, if you're wondering who they are,
happen to be a group of drag performers who wear religious garb.
And their whole point is to protest intolerance while raising money for
causes that support the LGBTQ community.
Now, for example, they do grant programs for progressive grassroots projects
that promote wellness, joy, tolerance, and diversity within our communities.
And religious conservatives caught wind of this, and they didn't like it.
Now, why didn't they like it?
I think some, obviously, don't like the Pride event overall, but
I think the sticking point for many of them had to do with the fact that they
felt that the drag performers were making a mockery of their religion, and
they took offense to that.
So I'm gonna pause for comment.
What do you think so far, Cenk?
>> Yeah, so I like the Pride events at sporting events,
I don't think that's political.
They do the kiss cam at the sporting events, and straight couples kiss all day,
all night at every sporting event, and everybody cheers, right?
So there's no political message in there, and
there's no political message in being gay.
That's just who you are, you didn't choose that for politics sake, right?
So, now, can I see why religious people would be offended by the fake
nuns being drag queens or whatever?
Yeah, I can see it.
Am I offended?
Of course not, right, but I'm an atheist.
And I also don't believe that religious people should get offended,
I think they're honestly being ridiculous every time they get offended.
And I can explain why in a second.
But I get why they're offended.
>> Yeah, I mean, look, I'm also an atheist, but
I can also see why they would feel offended by this.
Let me go to Marco Rubio's statement.
He released a statement toward the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, and
he said this.
Major League Baseball, as a private organization in a free country,
can give awards to whatever groups it chooses no matter how loathsome.
But baseball has always been tied to our nation's values, has it?
Okay, at the heart of which is faith in God, is it?
>> [LAUGH] Well, to be fair, they did do segregation,
which was the country's values for a long time.
>> True.
>> I don't know what that has to do with God, but okay.
>> It would be an outrage and a tragedy if the MLB, in pursuit of modern,
secular, and indeed anti-religious values, rebuked that faith and
the millions of believing fans who cherish the sport.
So it wasn't just Marco Rubio,
there was just a wave of right wing backlash against the Dodgers.
And unfortunately, they temporarily caved to the pressure, and
they announced that they would no longer award the Sisters during this pride event.
So the Sisters hit back hard, they didn't like this for good reason.
And they say that the Sisters are not anti-Catholic, but
an organization based on love, acceptance, and celebrating human diversity.
To be condemned by representatives of the Catholic Church is particularly ironic,
given that organization's long history of condoning and
concealing the sexual abuse of children.
>> That's a great point.
>> That is a great point.
A very strong statement, to say the least.
Now, many prominent organizations also spoke out against the Dodgers decision.
And the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center demanded that the Dodgers should reinvite
the Sisters or cancel the Pride Night altogether,
which I don't think that's necessarily the best option, right?
>> That's the worst option.
>> That's terrible. >> Why would we fight for that?
>> No, I wouldn't want that.
Both the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and LA Pride announced
that they would no longer be attending the Dodgers Pride Night.
And even Dodgers staffers weren't happy about the decision.
Many Dodgers employees were upset that the team responded so quickly to criticism by
announcing that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence would not be honored,
according to a staffer who requested anonymity because the person was
not authorized to speak to the media about the issue.
Now, after all that pressure, the Dodgers decided, okay, fine, we're gonna reinvite.
We're gonna reinvite them.
>> [LAUGH] This is getting silly, guys.
>> A full apology and explanation was given to us by the Dodgers staff,
which we accept.
In the future, if similar pressures from outside our community arise,
our two organizations will consult and assist each other in responding.
And that's a direct statement from the Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
But now what's being sold to the public by the press, is that,
all of a sudden, though, the Dodgers have decided to both reinvite
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and do a separate event for religious folks.
Except they've been doing that, they were doing that annually prior to
the coronavirus pandemic, the last time they did it was in 2019.
So I don't think that they've invented a new event just to appease the right wing,
it's just an event that they've been doing,
but they paused on that event because of the coronavirus pandemic.
>> Yeah, so look, guys, I love the name Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence.
I think that's awesome, hilarious.
I'm in favor of Perpetual Indulgence depending on the degree and balance.
So I like the group, I'd like to see them.
God bless on all fronts, ironic.
So if you're wondering, hey, why did you say like,
you could say understand religious people's objection to it?
Yeah, I'm gonna tell you why, and you're gonna get it instantly.
Imagine if they did it with Muslim clothes or Jewish clothes, right, religious garb.
If they put on a yamulke and other artifacts of Orthodox Jews or
something, and went out there and, [SOUND], did that.
Again, I wouldn't mind at all, I'm atheist, and
I think all religion is absurd, right, and same thing with Muslims, right?
So I'm originally from a Muslim background, but
if they made fun of Muslims and Muslim garb, I wouldn't mind.
But do you think everybody wouldn't mind?
I bet you a lot of people wouldn't mind, right?
So yeah, I can see.
And I grew up in the 80s and 90s, where something like this would have never
been allowed, because all religious people would have freaked out and
they would have said it was the most offensive thing they've ever seen.
So I get why people are concerned that it's at a baseball game,
but then you have to also, at the same time, right wingers,
right wingers, can you also be reasonable back and
say, yeah, this isn't really about the kids, right?
We just don't like the LGBTQ community.
>> Right.
>> We don't want the Pride event in the first place.
Be honest, you don't want the Pride event, right?
You're now, wow, I'm so offended by this religious thing.
Some of you, I believe you, but a lot of you,
you just don't want that represented in any way, shape, or form.
Hey, and producers, if you can bring back the Tesla pictures.
So we did this earlier in the show, but Tesla is selling cars.
I saw it in the mall over the weekend with a giant Pride logo, and a rainbow, and
everything on their cars.
And so, now you say, no, no, that's okay, because it doesn't involve children.
It doesn't, what do you mean?
Children go to the baseball game, children get in cars, children buy,
their parents buy them.
They ride in this every single day, they see it in the streets, etc.
So why is it okay when Elon Musk does it?
So should we cancel Elon Musk along with the Los Angeles Dodgers?
So, no, just admit you're against LGBTQ folks in the first place,
stop pretending, okay?
So I know it's impossible for either side to come to terms, right?
But, man, we got to talk to each other.
>> I know but, okay, so, I
would prefer that we get to a place where there are areas
of our lives that aren't hyper politicized, okay?
And so understand what I'm saying, this isn't a Laura Ingraham shut up and
dribble point at all.
But I do feel that politics has injected itself in every facet of life,
in every entertainment event, sporting event, everything,
and the country is already so divided.
So the second that there's some political event being endorsed by whatever,
a sports team or whatever it is, what ends up happening is people go into their
corners and they fight, they fight each other.
And I think we need to get back to a place where Americans from all different
backgrounds, with all different beliefs, and all different political leanings,
are able to enjoy each other's company in non-politicized environments.
And remember what it means to just be a person.
Do you get what I'm saying?
>> I do, but that's also a tough balancing act.
And I just wish we would have honest conversations about it so
we can get to a balance that we're all comfortable with, right,
instead of the grandstanding that happens on the extremes.
So look, the reason why I say it's complicated is,
on the one hand, back when I was growing up,
it was a right wing that would enforce it on all the sporting events.
So we do the Pledge of Allegiance, there's a God section of that,
everybody holds their hand to their heart.
There's God this, there's God that, right?
And sometimes religious figures would come out in the beginning before
the games, right?
And they still do this militaristic uptawazoo, right?
I don't wanna hear about your defense contract,
the great planes that you're flying over the stadium, etc.
So there's a reason why the left doesn't wanna politicize either, right?
>> Right.
>> Especially the militarization of these games.
So keep that in mind.
On the other hand, when Colin Kaepernick takes a knee, that's an awesome,
courageous stand, right?
When LeBron James says, hey, look, I care about police shootings, and
just cuz I'm rich and it doesn't necessarily happen to me, it doesn't mean,
well, number one, it can't happen to me.
Number two, I care about other human beings.
The athletes have a right to have their own political opinions-
>> I totally agree with that.
>> Left wing or right wing.
>> Yeah, I 100% agree with that.
It's different when individual athletes, because of what's currently happening in
the country, wanna make a point, I get that.
And I don't want to squash their efforts to voice their opinion on whatever it
is that they wanna voice their opinion on.
But I see it as something entirely different when the sports team, or
the league, whatever it is, endorses and puts together politicized events.
Do you get what I'm saying?
>> No, I do.
And again, it's a tough balancing act.
Is breast cancer awareness politicized or not politicized?
I don't think it's politicized, but some people might think it is.
>> I don't know if there's a big debate on breast [CROSSTALK].
>> There isn't, thank God.
And I shouldn't say it out loud cuz I don't know what they're gonna politicize
next, right?
>> Right.
>> But I hear you, you get to a place, again,
shoe on the other foot is an easy way to do the calculation on that.
What if they did an event where they made fun of gay people, or atheists, or
something?
>> Right. >> Well, I wouldn't like that, right?
So that's a one way that you can tell, hey, is this fair or is it not fair?
What if it was done to us, right?
So even us trying to have a conversation where you imagine the other side and
how they feel, is oftentimes considered forbidden.
Don't do that.
No, the other side is just monsters, etc.
And sometimes they can act like monsters, so there's a temptation to go in
that direction, but there's a right way to draw these balances.
And always, if there's politicization of something,
the left wing winds up getting screwed anyway.
[LAUGH] Money always wins.
So they'll find a way to inject politics in a bad way into all these events, so
right balance.