Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle is currently on MLB’s 10-day injured list due to a sprained elbow ligament.

With the Nationals out in Colorado for a three-game series, Eireann Dolan’s husband decided to make good use of his newfound free time. He joined a rally in support of abortion rights at the Supreme Court.

Sean and Eireann were spotted by Nationals superfan Lacey M. – though Lacey admitted in an interview with RMNB that she could not believe what she was seeing at first.

“The protest was pretty packed and I was stepping back from the crowds when I thought I saw Sean and Eireann sitting on the Capitol side of the street,” Lacey said. “At first, he looked very similar from far away but I thought I was just seeing things because the Nats were in Colorado. Then I remembered that he was on the injured list.”

Lacey, wearing a navy blue Ruth Bader Ginsburg shirt, took out her phone and cross-referenced what she was seeing with a photo of Sean and Eireann together on Google.

“I wasn’t really surprised Sean and Eireann were there because they do so much for the community and different causes like LGBTQ youth programs,” Lacey said. “I’m a huge fan of Sean’s. I even went to his ‘good-bye’ game last year when he was playing for the Reds.”

After summoning even more courage (she was already protesting the highest decision-makers of the land), Lacey walked up to the person she thought was Sean and had one question for him.

Are you Sean Doolittle?

“Sean said yes and asked my name, shook my hand,” Lacey said. “I asked if we could get a quick selfie and Eireann offered to take pictures. They were both super nice. I said thank you for being here and he thanked me for being there.”

Eireann also took a selfie, perhaps accidentally, while trying to take the photos, which made the experience even more special for Lacey.

Sean’s hastily made cardboard sign for Judge Samuel Alito was inspired by a Danny DeVito tweet from 2013 for Judge Antonin Scalia.

Antonin Scalia retire bitch

— Danny DeVito (@DannyDeVito) March 3, 2013

“Recycling collection was on Monday!” Eireann explained on Twitter. “Otherwise [Sean] would have had plenty of gently used pizza boxes to make a better sign.”

Alito, whose Sean’s sign references, wrote the leaked draft opinion that strikes down the Roe v. Wade ruling, which protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

“I was off of work for the day and I go to protests as often as possible, especially for things like this,” Lacey said. “People need to speak up and vote. We are the majority and Roe v. Wade has had many attempts at being overturned so it’s really messed up that all of a sudden our rights are on the line based upon the religious beliefs of the justices. It’s supposed to be a separation between church and State.”

The World Series-winning Doolittle returned to the Nats in 2022 after spending one season away with the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners. Doolittle has refound his form from past years, striking out six batters in 5.1 innings pitched so far this season. He’s given up one hit and no runs in his six relief appearances.

Doolittle became a beloved player during his time in Washington due to his quirky personality, his activism, and his love of Star Wars.

Photos used with permission from Lacey M.