The Justice Department is reviewing Major League Baseball’s handling of three San Francisco Giants players who received warnings after writing Bible verse references on rainbow-themed Pride Night caps.
Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker attracted attention from league officials Friday when they added handwritten references to Genesis 9:12-16 on their Pride-themed hats. Another pitcher, Sam Hentges, opted to wear the team’s standard black cap instead.
The cited passage describes the rainbow as a “sign of the covenant” between God and the earth.
MLB rules prohibit players from writing on or otherwise modifying their uniforms. The league did not fine or formally discipline the players, but Roupp, Brubaker and Walker were given verbal warnings.
In a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the matter has been referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“The three players expressed their opposition to MLB’s pro-Pride orthodoxy,” Dhillon wrote in an open letter shared on social media. “The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League’s vehicle for pro-Pride messages.”
The Giants’ caps featured a rainbow-colored version of the team logo in recognition of the LGBTQ community
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was the intended recipient of the open letter
For their part, the players have not accused MLB of discrimination.
‘At the end of the day I don’t think it’s discrimination,’ Brubaker told the Houston Chronicle. ‘It’s just people getting a hold of something and turning it into something.’
‘I don’t feel discriminated against,’ Hentges told the Chronicle. ‘Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They can feel how they want about me or what I have done, but it wasn’t out of hate. I don’t hate the community. It’s gotten bigger than anticipated and drawn more attention than everybody thought.’
MLB declined to comment on Dhillon’s letter, but referred to its previous statement about its warning to players.
‘To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,’ read a league statement from earlier in the week. ‘We respect players’ right to free expression. … We have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as ‘Dad,’ ‘Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom,’ and names of family members.’
In a letter sent to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has revealed the case has been referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
But conservatives are unconvinced by that argument.
As Dhillon wrote in her letter to Manfred, MLB allowed players to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches on their uniforms on July 23 and 24 of 2020, which the assistant AG considers to be a ‘double standard.’
Senator Josh Hawley (Republican – Missouri) followed with his own letter accusing MLB of having an anti-Christian bias.
‘MLB has said this is a content-neutral policy and that MLB ‘respect(s) players’ right to free expression,’ Hawley wrote. ‘But this is dubious, given that MLB is openly promoting a political viewpoint and possibly compelling adherence to that viewpoint.’
‘We must protect the first freedom: the free exercise of religion,’ Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican – Louisiana) wrote in his own letter. ‘We call it that because it is intentionally the first listed in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The idea that baseball—America’s pastime—would censor religious viewpoints is very concerning. The conviction of these players should be applauded, not stamped out.’
Josh Hawley (Republican – Missouri) has also accused MLB of having an anti-Christian bias
The controversy is not limited to the Giants.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen wore a regular cap without the rainbow logo during Pride Night.
Last season, his then-Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw referenced the same Bible verse as Roupp did on the team’s Pride Night: ‘And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.’
Many of the players have received public support from fans and even actor Rob Schneider, who accused MLB of being ‘anti-Christian.’ Schneider went so far as to offer to pay the fines of any player penalized for refusing to wear rainbow Pride-themed jerseys or hats.
The York Revolution have held Pride Night for the past 10 seasons, but ‘a number of players’ opted to forfeit Thursday’s game rather than play in rainbow-colored Pride-themed jerseys
York’s Chris Vallimont and Braden Scott are seen in a silly slide show on the team’s Instagram page in May. It’s unclear which players refused to partake in Thursday’s Pride Night
Meanwhile, an independent league baseball team in Pennsylvania forfeited a game after many of its players refused to wear rainbow-colored Pride Night-themed jerseys.
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball’s York Revolution forfeited to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Thursday. As team officials later explained in a statement, ‘a number’ of its players objected to participating in the club’s 11th annual Pride Night in observance of LGBTQ+ history and civil rights. Those players have not been identified publicly.
The team, which is partnered with several pro-LGBTQ+ organizations, responded to the controversy by pledging $10,000 to the Rainbow Rose Center, which aims to promote visibility and inclusion in southeastern Pennsylvania.
‘To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York,’ read the team statement.
Despite the forfeit, the Revolution still planned to hold a Pride Night celebration on Thursday evening. Furthermore, the team offered ticket exchanges to fans for future games.
