Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was definitely not a fan of his team’s decision to honor a group of anti-Catholic drag queens at their upcoming Pride Night event. However, it sounds like he’s still going to show up.
Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times last week that despite the vulgar and extremely disrespectful antics of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag queens who openly mock Catholicism, Kershaw believes Christ’s call to “love everybody well” means that he has to attend the game.
“As a follower of Christ, we’re supposed to love everybody well,” Kershaw told the Times. “And I think that means being able to be at a lot of different places and be able to be a part of a lot of different things.”
Kershaw took pains the confine his criticism of the “Sisters” to their mockery of Catholicism.
“I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” Kershaw said. “It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I 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.”
The All-Star pitcher further said that, rather than boycotting, the correct response would be to focus on your faith.
“I think in these situations, instead of maybe criticizing or trying to find something wrong with a group, it’s better just to focus on what you do believe in,” Kershaw said. “For me, that’s Jesus. So I think that was our best response.”
Kershaw’s stance is not surprising but it is very, very disappointing.
I’m not sure what “being able to be at a lot of different places and be able to be a part of a lot of different things” means. But it clearly doesn’t mean taking a stand against people who openly mock your faith.
If Kershaw, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in the history of the game and arguably the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history, were to take a stand and refuse to participate in a game where his faith was openly mocked. It might just get the attention of Dodgers’ ownership and make them reconsider doing something as brazenly offensive and sacrilegious as giving a “Community Heroes” award to people who grotesquely mock the religion of most of their fans. It might also inspire other players in MLB and other sports to not participate in their team’s Pride Night celebrations.
Which, who knows? Could lead to an end to the practice of teams forcing fans to embrace and validate a lifestyle they either disagree with or directly conflicts with their religious beliefs.
Instead, Kershaw chooses to hide behind some not Biblically supported, milquetoast version of Christianity in which you let others pervert and soil your faith because you’re called to love. You can love and still take a stand. Jesus loved every “money-changer” in the temple but still flipped their tables over and threw them out.
And no one is even asking Kershaw to do anything like that. But how about simply refusing to be a part of something that trashes your faith? He could do that. But, he won’t. And that is truly, truly disappointing.