CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt has thanked Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations Jason Sinnarajah for the organization's public apology over an anti-Catholic scandal, calling it "the right response."
Reinhardt sent a letter to Sinnarajah June 2, praising the Nationals for acting "decisively" following undercover footage that revealed the team's Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson had made comments suggesting Catholic pitcher Trevor Williams was excluded from certain social media content because of his faith.
Reinhardt opened the letter by thanking Sinnarajah for his "prompt, serious, and transparent response" to an earlier letter CatholicVote had sent to Nationals owner Mark Lerner.
"CatholicVote raised this matter because millions of Catholics across the country are tired of seeing anti-Catholic sentiment minimized, excused, or ignored," Reinhardt wrote. "In this case, the Nationals' response was neither evasive nor dismissive. You acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, apologized, and took action. That is the right response."
Reinhardt thanked Sinnarajah specifically for apologizing publicly to Williams, to Catholics broadly, and to Nationals fans, and for clearly stating that the comments made in the footage were untrue and did not reflect the organization's views.
She noted that the team went further than words of apology as well – by terminating Hudson.
"We also appreciate that the Nationals acted decisively after conducting an internal review and that the individual in question is no longer employed by the organization," she wrote. "That decision matters. Anti-Catholicism should be taken seriously wherever it appears, especially in an institution with the public visibility and civic importance of a Major League Baseball franchise in the nation's capital."
She expressed gratitude for Sinnarajah's personal assurance — as a practicing Catholic himself — that the team does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.
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"Catholics should never be made to feel that their faith is something embarrassing, disqualifying, or unwelcome in public life, professional life, or the world of sports," Reinhardt wrote.
The letter follows Sinnarajah's May 29 on-air apology.
The scandal was sparked by undercover footage released May 26 by O'Keefe Media Group showing Hudson saying the Nationals avoided featuring Williams on social media due to his outspokenness about his Catholic faith. Hudson was fired May 29.
Reinhardt's letter also acknowledged the Nationals' continued support of Williams on and off the field, calling the Roberto Clemente Award nomination meaningful.
She remarked, "We hope this moment can serve as a clear reminder that baseball truly is for everyone, including faithful Catholics who live their faith openly and courageously.”