Riley Gaines Calls Out ‘Systemic Breakdown of Faith’ After LA Dodgers Re-Invite LGBT Group to Pride Night

Hannah Schoenbaum/AP

Former college swimmer Riley Gaines has spoken out against the Los Angeles Dodgers re-inviting The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the team’s upcoming Pride Night.

Gaines — who’s become an advocate for bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports — responded on Twitter to a video of the group doing a dance routine involving a crucifixion. She called it a “mockery.”

“Imagine the response if this mockery was performed surrounding any other religion,” she said Wednesday. “Instead they’re being honored as “community heroes.

“Open your eyes to the systemic break down of faith, family, and freedoms and what that’s meant for past civilizations. It’s not pretty.”

Imagine the response if this mockery was performed surrounding any other religion. Instead they’re being honored as “community heroes”.

Open your eyes to the systemic break down of faith, family, and freedoms and what that’s meant for past civilizations. It’s not pretty. https://t.co/5Ee1fb85tH

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 24, 2023

On May 18, the Dodgers announced the group would not be attending Pride Night due to “strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion.” Just a few days later, the team reinvited them. There, they will receive the Community Hero Award by the team.

Founded in San Francisco in 1979, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is an “Order of queer and trans nuns,” according to the group’s website. While some have taken offense to the groups’ use of religious imagery, The Sisters of Indulgence have maintained they’re not anti-Catholic. They describe themselves as using “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com