San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow has spoken out against the players who wore Bible verses on their hats during the team’s recent Pride Night, saying the gesture showed a lack of awareness about the city and the organization they represent.
The controversy began last Friday, when Giants right-hander Landen Roupp wore “Gen 9:12-16” on his Pride Night cap. Relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker later also appeared with Bible verses written on their official Pride Night hats.
Major League Baseball responded by issuing warnings to the three pitchers. “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney told The Athletic on Monday.
Krukow said players have a responsibility to understand the cultural climate in San Francisco, particularly on issues involving both religious and personal freedom. In his view, the reaction they faced should not have come as a surprise.
“I think when you’re a player, and you come into this environment, it’s your responsibility to know just how sensitive this city is in regards to that cultural freedom and religious freedom, and just the way that you live your life,” Krukow said. “And I think they were in for a rude awakening with the response, and it wasn’t just from the gay community; it was from the Northern California community that supports the gay community.”
He also pointed to the Giants’ long history of standing with the LGBTQ community, especially during the height of the AIDS crisis. Krukow said it was painful to see the organization criticized, given what he believes has been decades of sincere support.
“There’s an irony too because the Giants organization is getting dumped on as well, and that hurt me,” he said. “It hurt me because I saw in 1994 that they were the first team to ever take on the challenge of going against public opinion and the outrage of even associating with the gay community, and they openly went out and said, ‘We support the gay community. We support until there’s a cure day. We are going to raise money to fight AIDS. We support the community.’ And they did it with love.
“… And the Giants were the first team at the ballpark to wave the pride flag, and that took on criticism from around the country. So it hurt me to see that there was criticism directed towards the Giants, because of all that they have done to help the gay community, and the relationship between the Giants and the gay community has always been amazing,” he added.
Krukow concluded with a call for understanding on both sides.
“If I was a part of the gay community, or a minority, and there was hate directed towards me — if there was opinion that that was prejudice directed towards me, I would stand tall, and I would scream as loudly as I possibly could,” Krukow said. “And I get this, I do, but I do think that it’s necessary that we do look at both sides of this. We respect those that voice their opinion, even when we disagree with it, and we also applaud those that stood tall.”
