Following the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring a group of anti-Catholic “drag nuns” known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on Friday night, the team has come up short in the two games they have played against the San Francisco Giants. The decision to honor the drag queens, considered a hate group by the Catholic League, led to opposition campaigns, boycotting, and gatherings ahead of the game for prayer and procession. The entrance to the stadium was shut down by religious protestors on Vin Scully Avenue ahead of the game.
Read More:
Notably, the pre-game ceremony happened in a remarkably empty stadium. Game attendance was reportedly well below regular attendance for a game against a major rival team on a Friday night series opener. The Dodgers debuted a pitcher on Friday, Emmet Sheehan, who has an Irish-Catholic surname (same as mine) and went to Fordham Prep Catholic School. Sheehan pitched six no-hit innings before he was pulled from the game in the seventh due to pitch count. The Dodgers collapsed after Sheehan left the mound, losing to the Giants after two extra innings, 7 to 5.
On Saturday, Los Angeles didn’t come near redemption. They were shut out, 15 points to a big goose egg. The Dodgers have not suffered a fifteen-point shutout at home in the last 125 years, matching the 1898 franchise record.
The Giants did most of the damage in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. J.D. Davis delivered a grand slam in the sixth, giving San Francisco a 9-point lead.
The Dodgers have lost nine of their last 13 games, leaving them 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. The Giants are now only a half-game behind the Dodgers, winning their last six straight games and nine out of the last 11.
Social media users responded to the shutout by tying it to the team’s drag nun antics of “mocking God,” and calling the Dodgers “cursed.”
Another commenter noted that in 1995, the Giant’s owner apologized to the President of the Catholic League for having the group on the field.
I previously wrote about the 1995 incident:
In a letter written to Giants owner Peter Magowan in August of that year, Catholic League President William Donohue expressed concerns about the inclusion of the group at a pre-game ceremony raising AIDS awareness.
Donohue questioned the presence of individuals dressed as Catholic nuns and the pope and criticized the use of the event as a platform for bigotry instead of focusing solely on AIDS fundraising. Donohue wrote that it “also seemed to open the door to anti-Catholicism.”
Magowan, in his response dated September 5, 1995, apologized for the group’s “acts of mockery,” acknowledging that they are “unfair towards the Church.” The Giants owner expressed embarrassment, writing that he was:
“…deeply embarrassed to discover the ‘Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ on the field during the pregame ceremonies.”
Magowan explained that the Giants had “no previous knowledge” of the group’s planned participation.
Earlier this month, I wrote:
I don’t recommend mocking God.
Y’all don’t come cryin’, now.
The Dodgers play game three of the series against the Giants on Sunday afternoon.