MLB commissioner tells Sen. Hawley Giants players won’t be disciplined over Bible verses on Pride Night hats

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verse references connected their Pride Night hats volition not look fines oregon subject implicit the incident, portion defending the league’s azygous argumentation astatine the halfway of the controversy.

In a June 19 missive posted to X by Hawley connected Monday, Manfred said MLB’s bureau issued "a regular oral warning" aft Giants players added biblical references to caps with the team’s Pride logo. But helium said the informing came earlier the league learned the Giants had not intelligibly told players they could deterioration regular caps instead.

"The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor volition they ever be," Manfred wrote.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote "Genesis 9:12-16" connected his Pride-Night themed hat. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

However, astatine slightest 1 Giants subordinate did opt retired of the Pride Night cap. Reliever Sam Hentges wore the team’s modular headdress alternatively of the Pride Night mentation during the game.

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Hawley characterized the effect arsenic an admittance from MLB that the league had been "wrong to endanger the Giants players implicit Bible verses." The Missouri Republican sent Manfred a June 16 missive asking wherefore MLB warned players for "publicly expressing their Christian faith" connected their caps during San Francisco’s Pride Night.

The speech came aft Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department had referred the substance to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, arguing that MLB’s handling of the warnings raised spiritual favoritism concerns.

The contention began aft Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verse references connected rainbow-logo caps during the team’s June 12 Pride Night game. Roupp wrote "Gen 9:12-16," referring to a transition from Genesis that describes the rainbow arsenic a motion of God’s covenant aft the flood.

MLB initially said the penning violated league rules against players altering uniforms oregon equipment. In his missive to Hawley, Manfred said that regularisation was collectively bargained with the MLB Players Association and prohibits players from writing, attaching, affixing, embroidering oregon different displaying messages connected apparel oregon playing equipment.

"The argumentation is enforced without respect to the substance of the messaging," Manfred wrote.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says Giants players who wrote Bible verses connected Pride Night hats volition not look fines oregon subject implicit the controversy. (Mary Holt/WBCI/MLB Photos)

Manfred said the intent of the regularisation is to forestall players from becoming messengers for governmental oregon societal issues portion successful uniform, due to the fact that galore messages tin offend immoderate information of the instrumentality base, adjacent if that is not the player’s intent.

But Manfred besides acknowledged that MLB has tried to debar putting players successful the presumption of being required to instrumentality portion successful commemorative events that whitethorn struggle with their spiritual beliefs oregon values.

"We recognize that immoderate players oregon different on-field unit person not been comfy wearing the pridefulness emblem connected their azygous based connected their spiritual beliefs," Manfred wrote.

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The contented is not the archetypal MLB contention involving Pride-themed uniforms, arsenic Rays players declined to deterioration Pride logos successful 2022 and erstwhile Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw wrote the aforesaid Genesis notation connected a Pride-themed headdress past season.

The commissioner said MLB adopted a argumentation successful 2023 barring clubs from utilizing peculiar uniforms, hats oregon instrumentality for squad solemnisation days but nether constrictive circumstances, specified arsenic patches honoring deceased members of the shot assemblage oregon commemorating shot milestones.

However, Manfred said the Dodgers and Giants were allowed to support utilizing Pride emblems connected uniforms and hats nether a grandfathered objection due to the fact that Los Angeles and San Francisco are location to ample LGBTQ communities and some clubs wanted to amusement enactment for those fans.

A peculiar logo for Pride Night is displayed astatine Oracle Park successful San Francisco connected June 12, 2026. (Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)

MLB agreed to that objection connected the information that nary subordinate oregon uniformed unit subordinate would beryllium required to deterioration the cogwheel and that each nine would marque definite players were comfy with the apparel, according to Manfred.

Manfred said the Giants’ connection with players this twelvemonth was "inadequate and not clear" and added that immoderate players did not recognize they had the enactment to deterioration their mean azygous and added messages to the Pride caps "as a result."

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"In closing, MLB believes successful the close of our players and fans to explicit their spiritual beliefs, and astatine the aforesaid clip supports the communities successful this state that are fans of our Clubs, including the LGBTQ community," Manfred wrote.

Manfred said MLB volition support its prohibition connected azygous alterations to debar "censoring immoderate messages but not others," portion continuing to enactment with players and clubs connected policies that respect the values and beliefs of players and fans.