Texas Rangers skip Pride Night tradition citing the need for a "welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment"
The Chicago Cubs started Baseball's Pride custom in 2001. Before Houston Astros' "Baseball is for Everyone" Pride Night in June 2021 versus the Texas Rangers, the final two holdouts were both in Texas.
Since Pride month has started, all the MLB teams are organising Pride nights to celebrate the LGBTQ community. However, the Texas Rangers team will not host any Pride nights. They claimed that they foster a "welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment for fans and employees" and mentioned a number of activities they take part in.
A few of the events the Texas Rangers are holding include supporting the 2022 NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series and participating in events with the Resource Centre, a Dallas-based LGBTQ community and health centre. The MLB has been coping with boycott threats from supporters over teams' Pride nights as anti-gay and anti-transgender legislation and alarmism surge across state legislatures during the joyous month.
"Our commitment is to make everyone feel welcome and included in Texas Rangers baseball. That means in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do — for both our fans and our employees." - Texas Rangers
The Pride evenings of other 29 MLB teams have a variety of events planned to honor the LGBTQ community. Some of them are giving away Pride fanny packs, putting on a fireworks display, and donning rainbow-coloured jerseys.
Dodgers Pride Night controversy
Los Angeles Dodgers had to face a controversy when they invited The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a San Francisco-based performance group where drag performers dress as nuns. Catholic groups and politicians were upset about the invitation given to them. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and LA Pride withdrew in protest after the Dodgers revoked their invitation, which prompted other groups to do the same.
Former US Vice-President Mike Pence took to Twitter and slammed the Dodgers as well.
Having been raised in a Catholic family, the Dodgers decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a hateful group that blatantly mocks Catholicism, to their event next month is deeply offensive. Last summer the MLB moved their All-Star Game out of Georgia over a lie… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
"Having been raised in a Catholic family, the Dodgers decision to invite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a hateful group that blatantly mocks Catholicism, to their event next month is deeply offensive. Last summer the MLB moved their All-Star Game out of Georgia over a lie about voter ID and now they are apologizing and welcoming anti-Catholic bigots back to Dodger Stadium with open arms.
"The MLB should not be apologizing to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, they should be apologizing to Catholics across America. America’s pastime should respect the faith of every American no matter what."
The Texas Rangers' lack of a Pride night on the schedule reflects the state leadership's stance on LGBTQ issues. Recently, Texas governor, Greg Abbott, signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender children. Abbott started looking into the parents of transgender kids last year, but a Texas judge later stopped that.