Nationals exec let go after video shows him saying team avoided using conservative player on social media: Sources

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals have let go of a community relations executive, sources told The Athletic on Friday, three days after a conservative group posted a hidden camera conversation in which the employee discussed internal deliberations about everything from an alleged social media ban on a Catholic pitcher to relationships with defense contractors and the organization’s efforts to placate President Trump.

The video, which racked up 4 million views on X since it was posted Tuesday, appeared to capture former Nationals director of community relations Sean Hudson talking in a public setting with an undercover “citizen journalist” from the O’Keefe Media Group.

The group was founded by James O’Keefe, who had also founded Project Veritas before leaving the company in February 2023. Project Veritas has been known to use deceptive techniques to record videos secretly and has, in the past, been accused of selective editing.

Hudson did not respond to multiple attempts to reach him for comment via phone calls and messages sent to his social media accounts, some of which have since been deleted.

During Friday’s pre-game show on Nationals.TV, president of business operations Jason Sinnarajah acknowledged that Hudson was no longer employed by the team, though he did not call him out by name.

Sinnarajah denied several specific points made by Hudson in the video, including that the organization is anti-Catholic, that it tracks people’s search history and that it hides players from social media.

Sinnarajah also apologized to Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams. In the video, Hudson had said the team avoided using Williams in certain team social media content after the pitcher — a devout Catholic — condemned the Los Angeles Dodgers for hosting the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence at their stadium in 2023. Some Catholic groups have criticized the organization for satirizing and mocking the religion with provocative costumes.

“We feel awful that he has been dragged into this situation, and hope this hasn’t been a distraction as he gets ready to get back on the field, which we’re excited to have him back on,” Sinnarajah said. “Trevor’s a valued member of the organization, we’ve been proud to support him both on and off the field, including recognizing him last year as our Roberto Clemente award honoree.”

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Nationals said the team had issued no such directive regarding Williams, noting that the pitcher is currently injured and has been featured in posts over the past couple of seasons. Hudson is also not on the Nationals’ social team.

Williams declined to comment to The Athletic.

Meanwhile, according to multiple reports on Friday, Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado urged the Department of Justice to investigate alleged religious discrimination against Nationals players.

Among other comments, Hudson referred to the players as “nine silly men in costumes,” and he appeared to divulge information about the team’s position on several sensitive issues. However, they largely fell outside of his job description.

At one point, Hudson appeared to say that the Nationals have invited U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to games, hoping that his meetings with defense contractors at Nationals Park would lead to them becoming corporate partners.

“We are trying to use baseball to make money,” Hudson said. “And a lot of that is defense contracts, the Palantirs of the world. We are essentially like, ‘Look at all the Americana hoorah stuff you can do at Nats Park. Give us $2 million.’ ”

“If we piss off Trump too much, he could slash the sports and entertainment budget for D.C.,” he continued. “And then maybe there’s a critical safety enhancement that we want to make to the ballpark — using facial recognition to detect people who are on the no-fly list — maybe those are people we want to avoid coming to the ballpark, and we won’t have the money to do it, and something bad happens.”

While detailing the team’s financial goals, Hudson said that fans who come to Nationals Park and accept cookies on their devices are providing the organization with valuable data. This is standard practice for teams and corporations.

“There is someone on our team who is responsible for figuring out everything about you and assigning you into a bucket of people,” Hudson said. “If you’re accepting cookies, we’re getting a plethora of your Google history.”

In a statement sent to The Athletic on Tuesday, the Nationals said they “are aware of comments made by an employee which were recorded without the employee’s knowledge and disseminated without his permission.

“The statements are not only factually incorrect, but do not reflect the views, opinions or actions of the Washington Nationals. The Nationals are dedicated to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for our players, fans and staff, and we vehemently deny any allegations to the contrary.”

It is not the first time that a pro sports team has fired an employee in the wake of one of the group’s videos.

In 2024, the Washington Commanders dismissed an employee after a similar hidden-camera video showed him making disparaging comments about fans, players and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Hudson had also worked as the team’s director of military affairs and interacted with players at various military appreciation events. According to his LinkedIn page, Hudson has been in his role with the Nationals since August 2023 and is an Air Force veteran. He deleted his X account shortly after the video was posted to social media.

Washington entered Friday’s game against the San Diego Padres as one of the sport’s biggest feel-good stories. Despite coming into the season with limited external expectations under first-year manager Blake Butera and first-year president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, the team has produced the top offense in MLB.

This is the latest into a season they have been over .500 since July 1, 2021.