The Washington Nationals have dismissed Sean Hudson, the team's director of community relations, after he was recorded on a hidden camera suggesting the team deliberately avoided featuring Catholic pitcher Trevor Williams on social media due to his religious beliefs.
Hidden Camera Footage
The video, published by conservative activist James O'Keefe, shows Hudson discussing internal team matters, including efforts to keep former President Donald Trump satisfied. Hudson claimed the team sidelined Williams from social media content after the pitcher publicly criticized the Los Angeles Dodgers' 'Pride Night' event featuring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag queens dressed as nuns.
Hudson stated, 'One of our pitchers, Trevor Williams, he is very Catholic. The Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens sometimes dressed as nuns. He went on social media like: 'This is wrong, this is my religion, you are all mocking it...' Because of that, we don't use him on social media.'
Political Reaction
The footage prompted Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert to urge Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate potential religious discrimination by the Nationals. Hudson also suggested the team feared angering the White House, saying, 'If we p** off Trump too much, he could slash the sports and entertainment budget for DC.'
Team Response
The Nationals issued a statement to The Athletic, saying, 'We are aware of comments made by an employee which were recorded without the employee’s knowledge and disseminated without his permission. The statements are not only factually incorrect, but do not reflect the views, opinions or actions of the Washington Nationals. The Nationals are dedicated to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for our players, fans and staff, and we vehemently deny any allegations to the contrary.'
Background
Trevor Williams previously commented on the Dodgers' event, stating, 'It becomes absurd... if this is gonna continue to happen, what are we doing? Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100 percent. We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who's gonna do it?'
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence describe themselves as 'a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns' who 'believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty.'
