WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw out the first pitch Tuesday before the Washington Nationals' annual Night Out game celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.
The California Democrat, who said she is a season-ticket holder for both the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers and a regular attendee at Golden State Warriors games, said she had never thrown out a first pitch before a game.
“I don’t even watch TV except for sports and so I know better than for a politician to go in front of a sports crowd —- who came for that, right?” Pelosi said. “But this tonight, (for) the LGBTQ, that was a whole different purpose, so I was very honored to do that and take whatever came my way.”
Pelosi took pictures before the game with fans on the warning track near the third-base dugout while wearing a No. 52 Nationals jersey with her last name on the back and a rainbow wristband. The 83-year-old then walked in front of the mound and tossed a pitch that Screech, the Nationals' bald eagle mascot, caught in front of the plate.
Pelosi said the challenges faced by the transgender community have provided even more reason to express support.
“People always say to me ‘It’s so easy for you because San Francisco is so tolerant,’ and I say ‘Tolerant to me is almost condescending,’” said Pelosi, who is in her 19th term in Congress and was Speaker from 2007-11 and 2019-23. “We’re not tolerant, we respect and we take pride. I think at this time the challenge that we face is we insist we take pride very vocally.”
