What Pride Night backlash? Dodgers won 100 games & lead MLB in attendance this season

When the Los Angeles Dodgers went ahead and honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence before their Pride Night, conservatives predicted the iconic franchise would suffer.

But they were completely wrong. The 100-win Dodgers thrived this season, and are a World Series favorite this October.

And tons of people showed up to their games, despite all of the right-wing handwringing!

The Dodgers led MLB in attendance for the 10th consecutive year, and the numbers weren’t close. They averaged 47,371 fans per game, which is 6,000 more than the second-place New York Yankees. Los Angeles was also the third-biggest draw for a road team, behind the Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

As Roll Call points out, those tricky facts should squash the Republicans’ silly “go woke, go broke” talking point once and for all.

It’s difficult to overstate how much partisan scorn the Dodgers attracted for honoring the Sisters, an iconic LGBTQ+ advocacy group that uses humor and religious imagery to highlight anti-gay discrimination.

Formed in San Francisco four decades ago, the Sisters perform community outreach and raises thousands of dollars for different causes. Most notably, they were at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS, caring for patients and even performing religious services when the Catholic Church refused. 

As far as Pride Night honorees are concerned, it’s hard to find a worthier group than the Sisters. But that didn’t stop many high-profile Republicans, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio and the vehemently homophobic Mike Pence, from throwing hissy fits.

The Dodgers briefly caved to the bad-faith pressure before reversing course and re-inviting the beloved group.

Desperate to keep their dying narrative alive, Republicans, such as Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis, pivoted to lying about the team’s attendance for Pride Night itself.

Since the Sisters were honored in a pregame ceremony long before first pitch, most fans weren’t in their seats yet. But that didn’t stop DeSantis from calling the stadium “virtually empty.”

The community notes promptly shut him down.

Marjorie Taylor Greene also participated in the gaslighting.

In reality, the Dodgers sold over 49,000 tickets for Pride Night, the biggest in the league.

Videos taken from the stands don’t show a lot of empty seats, contrary to DeSantis’ and MTG’s hot air…

The Dodgers, like all MLB teams, host many theme nights each year. One of them is Christian Faith and Family Day, which happened without any gay people protesting.

Imagine that!

Pride Nights were a huge controversy across MLB this season, with several players voicing their displeasure. But there were also star players who stood up for LGBTQ+ inclusion, such as pitcher Marcus Stroman and outfielder Julio Rodriguez.

Most fans were firmly on the side of inclusion, too. Blue Jays fans booed anti-LGBTQ+ pitcher Anthony Bass right out of the ballpark, days before he was released.

Like all pro sports leagues, MLB is now often accused of pushing progressive politics on its audience. A couple years ago, for example, the league moved its All-Star Game out of Atlanta after Georgia Republicans passed voter restriction laws.

But those cries of bias on the right aren’t impacting the game’s bottom line. MLB just enjoyed its biggest growth in three decades, with attendance shooting up 10%. Fans set streaming records as well.

The pitch clock, which significantly shortened games, probably played a big role. Shockingly, it seems as if fans watch for the product, and don’t care about who gets honored before a Pride event.

“Go woke, experience growth?”

By the way, the Dodgers will begin their first playoff series Saturday. They promise to play in front of a packed house, as always.