Nearly 50,000 fans attended Pride Night at Dodger Stadium | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
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The claim: Post implies fans boycotted Dodgers game where LGBTQ group received an award

A June 17 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of empty seats and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence being presented with an award during Pride Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“Dodgers Stadium was empty last night as Patriots boycott them for honoring Christian-hating ‘drag nun’ group,” reads text above the photo.

Some commenters appeared to believe the photo showed the stadium was mostly empty for the game.

“Praising God. Empty stadium!! Way to go,” wrote one commenter.

“I honestly didn’t think L.A. had enough christians (sic) to pull it off. Outstanding!” wrote another.

The post was shared more than 3,000 times in five days.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. More than 49,000 fans bought tickets for the game, which is more than average for the Dodgers this season, and photos and videos from the game show a large crowd. The stadium appeared to be mostly empty because the ceremony was held about an hour before the game, so many fans had yet to arrive.

Award led to both celebrations and protest

While it's true there weren't many people in the stadium during the June 16 ceremony, that's mostly because it was held about an hour before the game’s first pitch. Official attendance, which is a measure of tickets sold, was 49,074. That's more than the team’s league-leading average home attendance, but slightly down from the 52,505 who attended the 2022 Pride Night game.

Coverage of this year's game and Pride Night festivities, including video highlights posted by Major League Baseball, show a crowded stadium. The Dodgers did not announce why the ceremony was held so early and did not respond when USA TODAY reached out for a comment

The ceremony followed weeks of public controversy over the team's decision to give a community award to the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a satirical drag group of activists who dress as nuns. The organization is tax-exempt, and its mission statement says the group raises money and provides community support “for underserved and underprivileged people and organizations mostly within the LGBTQIA+ communities.”

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But some religious groups say the appearance of the group’s members is mocking and demeaning. Thousands of people protested outside of the stadium before the game.

The Dodgers announced May 5 that they withdrew the group’s invitation, then reinvited the group later that month after several LGBTQ+ groups in southern California responded by threatening to skip Pride Night.

The controversy over the group’s award comes at a time when corporate brands are already being targeted by some conservatives and subjected to boycotts for openly embracing the LGBTQ+ community, particularly around Pride Month. The financial stress has been dubbed “Bud Lighting," as some consumers aim to fight so-called "rainbow capitalism" with boycotts similar to what Bud Light faced after partnering with a transgender influencer.

USA TODAY reached out to Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative political commentator who shared the claim, for comment and did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact also debunked a similar claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thousands attended Pride Night Dodgers game | Fact check