Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen released a statement Tuesday in which he expressed his “disappointment” that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group that engages in obscene performances that are “blasphemous,” are being “honored as heroes at Dodger Stadium.”
Treinen said that the “sisters,” an organization that openly ridicules Christian beliefs and desecrates Jesus Christ, “display hate and mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith.”
https://twitter.com/Blake_Treinen/status/1663722541096247296
“There should be no ridicule or exposure to Christ as long as you live,” Treinen tweeted. “It should not be to deprive the community of rights and promote hatred for Christians and people of faith.”
Treinen explained the decision by the Dodgers to honor a group that desecrates the Christian faith and Jesus Christ “alienates the fans and supporters of the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and professional sports.”
“[I]nviting the Sister’s of Perpetual Indulgence to perform disenfranchises a large community and promotes hate of Christians and people of faith,” he continued, adding most Americans enjoy baseball without “propaganda and politics”:
People like baseball for its entertainment value and competition. The fans do not want propaganda or politics forced on them. The debacle with Bud Light and Target should be a warning to companies and professional sports to stay true to their brands and leave the propaganda and politics off the field.
“I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins,” Treinen shared. “I believe the word of God is true, and in Galatians 6:7 it says, ‘do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.’”
“This group openly mocks Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of my faith, and I want to make it clear that I do not agree with nor support the decision of the Dodger’s to ‘honor’ the Sister’s of Perpetual Indulgence,” he concluded, quoting from scripture, “’But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ Joshua 24:15.”
Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw also disagrees with the team’s decision to honor the group that self-describes as “queer and trans nuns,” but told the Los Angeles Times Monday his response to the Dodgers’ move was to advance the relaunch of the club’s “Christian Faith and Family Day” on July 30.
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
“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 Times. “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 [by the Dodgers].”
“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.”
Kershaw said he had no knowledge of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence before the Dodgers decided to honor them and that he “did the best I could to try and understand what they stood for,” but admitted it was “tough” to see the videos and photos of the group’s ridicule of Christianity with obscene displays.
“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,” Kershaw said. “And that was Jesus. So to make Christian Faith Day our response is what we felt like was the best decision.”
Music video director and politician Robby Starbuck also tweeted on Wednesday that the Dodgers’ move to reinvite and honor the anti-Catholic group “goes way beyond the pride stuff” and amounts to “the last straw.”
“These players don’t believe teams should ask them to violate their beliefs just like these teams would never ask their atheist players to wear crosses,” Starbuck said.
This goes way beyond the pride stuff but @Dodgers honoring a hate group that explicitly mocks their faith was the last straw. These players don’t believe teams should ask them to violate their beliefs just like these teams would never ask their atheist players to wear crosses.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 31, 2023
He added that he can “confirm players who aren’t on the Dodgers have also reached out to their agents and the union”:
This is NOT just a Dodgers issue. This has been under the surface for a while but the Dodgers honoring anti-Christian drag queens was a boiling point for many players.
More news: I can confirm players who aren’t on the Dodgers have also reached out to their agents and the union. This is NOT just a @Dodgers issue. This has been under the surface for a while but the Dodgers honoring anti Christian drag queens was a boiling point for many players.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 31, 2023
Starbuck said he could also “confirm a big group of Major League Baseball players will refuse to wear pride or trans flags of any kind this year if asked to by their teams.”
More news: I can confirm a big group of @MLB players will refuse to wear pride or trans flags of any kind this year if asked to by their teams. This includes star players. A few strong men taking a stand is leading others to as well. Courage is contagious.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 31, 2023
“This includes star players,” he stated. “A few strong men taking a stand is leading others to as well. Courage is contagious.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Blake Treinen” by Blake Treinen.
