Washington Nationals community relations director Sean Hudson was placed on leave after an O’Keefe Media Group undercover video showed him saying the team avoids using pitcher Trevor Williams in social media content because of his public defense of his Catholic faith.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson has been placed on leave after the O’Keefe Media Group released undercover footage in which he said the team avoids featuring pitcher Trevor Williams in social media content because of Williams’ public comments defending his Christian faith.

The video, released Tuesday and circulated in a social media post, showed Hudson speaking with an undercover journalist about Williams, a Nationals pitcher who previously objected to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring a drag group that has dressed as nuns

“One of our pitchers, Trevor Williams. He’s super Christian-Catholic, all these tattoos that mean a lot,” Hudson told the undercover reporter.

Hudson then described the controversy involving the Dodgers and the group Williams criticized.

“The Dodgers had a group… who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. [Trevor Williams] went on social media like… ‘This is my religion. You all are mocking it,’” Hudson said.

Hudson said Williams’ public position affected how the Nationals use him in team content.

“Because of that, we don’t use [Trevor Williams] on social [media],” Hudson said.

He gave an example involving lighthearted team videos in which players answer casual questions.

“Like, when they’re like, is a hot dog a sandwich? And like, the players come up, you know what I mean? Like, we don’t ask [Trevor Williams],” Hudson said.

The undercover footage also showed Hudson saying the Nationals sort fans into different groups based on Google history, according to the video released by O’Keefe Media Group.

After the video was published, Hudson was confronted by Alex Stein about the remarks. In a second video clip, Hudson denied that the comments sounded like something he would say.

“That doesn’t sound like something I would say,” Hudson told Stein.

O’Keefe Media Group later released another exchange in which Hudson told an undercover journalist that he had been placed on leave. In a text message shown in a third social media post, Hudson said the Nationals had been “top notch in terms of support.”

The controversy centers on whether Williams was excluded from promotional or social media content because of his religious views. Williams has been publicly identified with his Catholic faith and previously criticized the Dodgers’ decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group whose performances have drawn objections from Catholics and other Christians.

Hudson’s comments, as presented in the undercover video, sparked allegations that the Nationals engaged in religious discrimination against a player because he objected to what he considered mockery of his faith.

The Nationals’ decision to place Hudson on leave indicates the organization is reviewing the matter. The team had not issued a detailed public explanation in the submitted material.

The incident has drawn attention beyond baseball because it involves religious expression, workplace treatment and the use of player identity in professional sports marketing. It also raises questions about how teams manage public relations when athletes speak out on matters of faith, politics or culture.