The Los Angeles Angels were part of a number of headlines when Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken made the decision to host the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as her guests to the Pride Night game.
The announcement was made after the Los Angeles Dodgers disinvited the group from their pride celebration at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers later decided to re-invite the Sisters and issued an apology after backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
With the group also going to Angel Stadium on June 7, they received full-backing from the Angels front office, as they have since 2019 when their work with Orange County Pride began. On Wednesday, Paige Matthews, a drag queen from Southern California, was tasked with an ever-important honor by the Angels.
Aside from the welcoming display of pregame festivities at Gate 5 at Angel Stadium, the Angels and OC Pride organizers coordinated on how to deliver the game ball prior to first pitch, via Sarah Valenzuela of the L.A. Times:
The decision to have a drag queen deliver the game ball was made during a meeting between Orange County Pride and the Angels organization while planning the event. OC Pride’s organizers were the ones that floated the idea of allowing Matthews to be part of pregame festivities. The Angels’ response stunned OC Pride organizers as much as it did Matthews.
The controversial topic of drag in different parts of the country has gone far as to ban them altogether, but the Angels made the move to welcome the Sisters in to be a part of Pride Night:
“[Angels President John Carpino] was the first to say, ‘Even though we haven’t done this before, if this is something Orange County Pride feels like this is what will represent your organization, then you have our support,’” OC Pride board member Angel Bonilla recalled.
For one singular night, Matthews and the Sisters represented those who were there to support the LGBTQ+ community in celebration of Pride month:
The Sisters expressed their excitement over the invitation, with some of their small contingent being die-hard Angels fans, showing up in their full drag makeup, taking pictures with fans and speaking to other media members present.
“What makes me proud is that I’m able to represent the LGBTQ community to the straight community,” said Sister Fuzzywuzzy, who’s been an Angels fan since Angel Stadium opened. “As you’ve seen, we’ve been supported by the community. So the work that we’re doing is worthwhile.”
The Angels joined 29 other teams in Major League Baseball with a Pride Night on their themed schedules in the month of June, the lone holdout being the Texas Rangers.
Angels power their way to win over Chicago Cubs on Wednesday
The Angels powered their way to a 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs in the middle game of their three-game set.
Using a four-run sixth inning fueled by a Mickey Moniak three-RBI double, the Cubs would not score again.
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