Nationals host "Night Out" event at Tuesday's game, honor victims of Orlando tragedy

The Washington Nationals hosted their 12th annual "Night Out" event during Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs. The event is one of the largest LGBT nights in professional sports.

The Nationals honored the victims of Sunday's shooting in Orlando. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., sang "True Colors" and later the national anthem. There was also a flag unfurling on the pitcher's mound as well as recognition on the scoreboard. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Leslie Jordan, the Emmy Award-winning actor from "Will and Grace."

Billy Bean, MLB's Vice President of Social Responsibility and Inclusion, was in attendance and has spoken to players about his baseball career. Bean played in the majors from 1987-1995 and publicly came out in 1999. He was appointed MLB's first Ambassador for Inclusion in 2014.

"The takeaway from a day like this and what it means to me is we are giving a resource to allow people to feel better about themselves or an image that they can see that they can relate to," Bean said on the field prior to first pitch. "That to me goes all the way down to our youth, identifying and getting information that, for my generation, wasn't available, and we need to have positive, strong, consistent images and there's nothing more positive than what's going on on the field."

Bean said that the Nationals planned the "Night Out" event prior to the season, as they do every season, and it wasn't put together after the tragedy in Orlando.

He said instead, "Night Out" is an opportunity to bring a wider audience to the healing process.

"This was on the calendar a long time ago and I'm just grateful that the Nats understand the unfortunate timeline of what the events in Orlando ... we have a chance," Bean said. "This is going to be a televised game, this message will be viewed and the game will be watched in Florida and the southeast but also to know that everyone's heart was broken on Sunday morning. Doesn't matter who it happened to, it was a terrible, terrible event in our U.S. history."

The Nationals announced that a portion of the proceeds from "Night Out" ticket sales will benefit Team DC's scholarship fund.