Thirteen years after two women were kicked out of Dodger Stadium when fans complained because the couple shared a celebratory kiss at the game, the Los Angeles Dodgers will conduct their first LGBT Night Out.
Long-time Dodgers fan Danielle Goldey, removed from the stands with then-girlfriend Meredith Kott during an August 2000 game, said she plans to be at the game Friday night when the Dodgers take on Colorado. The event will feature a performance by the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles and a ceremonial first pitch by former Dodger Billy Bean -- the only living Major League Baseball player to publicly come out as gay.
The event comes more than a decade after Dodger Stadium security guards escorted Goldey and Kott from the stands because of fan complaints.
"They said that a woman complained that she didn't want her kids around 'Those kinds of people,'" Goldey told KPCC.
The team promptly issued a public apology, offered sensitivity training for employees and handed out tickets to LGBT groups. Then-Dodgers president Bob Graziano called the fans' removal "counter to the Dodgers culture" and the women were offered tickets for seats behind home plate.
Goldey had asked the team for an LGBT night 13 years ago.
"It doesn't need to be an annual event for 20 years," Goldey said. "It just needed to be recognized."
Fans can use the promo code "OUT" to purchase reserve seating in the Night Out sections. The organization plans to make LGBT Night Out an annual event at Dodger Stadium.
"We welcome all fans to Dodger Stadium throughout each season," said Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen. "We are especially proud to welcome and recognize the LGBT community of Los Angeles, an integral part of the city and of the Dodgers community."
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