The Washington Nationals are in full damage control after an undercover journalist with the O’Keefe Media Group caught now former Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson claiming to be religiously discriminating against Catholic starting pitcher Trevor Williams.
On Friday, news broke that the team had fired Hudson. Later that evening, during pregame coverage of the Nationals vs. Padres game, which the Padres later won 7-5, President of Business Operations Jason Sinnarajah addressed the controversy stating, "First off, I want to say unequivocally we are not anti-Catholic."
Williams was said to be specifically targeted by Hudson because Williams opposed the anti-Catholic group, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which was honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2023 season. The group openly mocks Jesus Christ and many Christian and Catholic traditions. Hudson was caught on hidden camera saying, "The Dodgers had a group… who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. He [Trevor Williams] went on social media like… 'This is my religion. You all are mocking it…' Because of that, we [Washington Nationals] don’t use him [Trevor Williams] on social [media]."
Sinnarajah emphasized his disgust with the claims made by Hudson adding, "We’re horrified by the comments made on the video. The comments don’t reflect us as an organization, our values and who we are. We took action right away, and the individual is no longer employed by the team."
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Specifically speaking to the claims that the organization blackballed Williams from social media promotional material, Sinnarajah said, "I also want to take a minute to apologize to Trevor Williams… We feel awful that he’s been dragged into this situation" He added, "Trevor [Williams] is a valued member of the organization. We’ve been proud to support in both on and off the field."
Sinnarajah further refuted the claims made in the hidden camera footage stating, "We do not track people’s Google search history. We do not hide players from social media."
Following the news of Hudson’s firing, O’Keefe Media Group told me, "We are glad to see that Nationals fans are getting the accountability many of them have called for. No one should be discriminated against because of their religion, including Trevor Williams. The firing of Sean Hudson is only the first step toward accountability."
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To the Nationals credit, the fact that they apologized at all, shows a stark comparison to the way the Los Angeles Dodgers handled the inviting, uninviting, and then re-inviting of the anti-Catholic group, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. They never apologized to their fans, and even moved the recognition ceremony before the majority of fans entered the stadium in 2023.
Trevor Williams' only public comments on the situation were made in a humorous way through an Instagram post on Friday making light of Hudson's claim that the team didn't include him in a promotional video asking players if they believe a hot dog is a sandwich and a caption that stated that he is "closer than ever to getting back onto the mound at Nationals Park — and I cannot wait."
