Dodger’s LGBT Night May 31

Tennis champions and longtime partners Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss (also minority Dodgers owners and tireless social activists), will throw ceremonial first pitches at Friday night’s Dodger game, the seventh annual LGBT Night. Also, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, celebrating its 50th anniversary, will be recognized by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Community Hero Award.

“We are thrilled to be honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of this special LGBT celebration,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “Honoring the Center means honoring what we stand for: care and compassion, hope and healing; equality.” Board member LuAnn Boylan will accept the award on behalf of the Center prior to the Dodgers’ 7:10 p.m. game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“The Center has been a part of Los Angeles now for 50 years and what better way to celebrate than with our hometown team,” added Jean. 

Bill Anderson, a military veteran and a client of the Center’s Senior Services, will also be honored during the game as the Military Hero of the Game for his service. Anderson served 21 years with the California Army National Guard and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. He is one of the first members of the LGBT Military Veteran Color Guard Detail—the only color guard detail of its kind in the nation.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers organization has long embraced diversity and inclusion, and has also championed those who stand up to help make the community—and the lives of the people within it—better,” said Erik Braverman, Dodgers Senior Vice President of Marketing, Community & Broadcasting. “The Los Angeles LGBT Center exemplifies what the Community Hero Award stands for, and the Dodgers are proud to honor the organization, its employees and volunteers for their tireless work on LGBT Night at Dodger Stadium.”

For more information about LGBT Night or to purchase specially-priced tickets, visit dodgers.com/lapride.

To learn more about the Los Angeles LGBT Center, visit lalgbtcenter.org.