CatholicVote is calling for explanations from the Washington Nationals after a senior team executive was caught on hidden camera saying the organization avoids featuring pitcher Trevor Williams on social media because of his public defense of the Catholic faith.
“It appears that the Washington Nationals have someone on their marketing team who refuses to work with one of the team’s players, Trevor Williams. Why? Because Trevor stood up and defended his Catholic faith,” CatholicVote Vice President of Advocacy Joshua Mercer said.
As Zeale News previously reported, undercover footage released May 26 by the O’Keefe Media Group showed Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying Williams — a Catholic pitcher who publicly criticized the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2023 decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of pro-LGBTQ activist drag performers who routinely mock Catholicism — is excluded from casual promotional posts, including lighthearted player polls.
“One of our pitchers, dude, Trevor Williams — he is very Catholic,” Hudson said in the video. “The Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. He went on social media like, 'This is wrong. It's my religion. You all are mocking it.' Because of that, we don't use him on social.”
🚨 Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations admits on hidden camera to ongoing religious discrimination against starting pitcher Trevor Williams over his outspoken Catholic faith.
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) May 27, 2026
“One of our pitchers, Trevor Williams. He’s super Christian-Catholic...”
“The Dodgers… pic.twitter.com/HHF1EGYN7f
In a May 2023 social media post that drew nearly 20 million views, Williams wrote that the group makes “a blatant and deeply offensive mockery” of Catholicism and encouraged fellow Catholics to “reconsider their support of an organization that allows this type of mockery of its fans to occur.”
— Trevor Williams (@MeLlamoTrevor) May 30, 2023
The O’Keefe report argued that the Nationals’ handling of Williams could implicate federal workplace discrimination law, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars religious discrimination by employers. No lawsuit or official investigation has been confirmed as of the report’s release.
The undercover video drew backlash online from baseball fans, including some who identified themselves as Catholic. Several commenters said the Nationals should be boycotted, Hudson should be fired, and Williams should take legal action.