US softball legend Leah Amico opens up on MLB Pride Night controversy, backs Christian players

Three-time Team USA Olympic softball golden medalist Leah Amico says she believes she would person written a Bible verse connected a Pride Night headdress if she had been made to deterioration 1 successful a game.

"I judge I would," Amico told Fox News Digital erstwhile asked if she'd constitute a Bible verse connected the cap.

"I judge that successful immoderate ways I consciousness similar it would beryllium akin to saying everybody should person to deterioration a transverse connected their jersey, but I would ne'er expect that with my teammates that don’t judge the aforesaid thing," she added of the players having to deterioration the Pride-themed caps.

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Softball subordinate Leah O'Brien-Amico poses for a representation during the USOC Media Summit astatine the Marriott Marquis successful New York, N.Y., connected May 15, 2004. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The comments from Amico, a three-time Olympic golden medalist with USA Softball and a three-time NCAA nationalist champion astatine Arizona, came aft Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses connected their Pride Night caps during San Francisco’s June 12 crippled astatine Oracle Park.

Roupp wrote "Gen 9:12-16" connected his cap, with portion of the Bible notation overlapping the rainbow-colored "SF" logo utilized for the team’s Pride Night uniform. The transition refers to the rainbow arsenic a motion of God’s covenant. MLB aboriginal issued a warning, saying the contented was not the contented of the connection but that penning of immoderate benignant connected uniforms violates league rules.

Amico said she viewed the players’ determination arsenic a connection of spiritual condemnation alternatively than hostility.

"Of course, arsenic a chap Christian, I thought it was a bold connection for them to beryllium capable to say, ‘Hey, I person a content that is antithetic than the crushed that I’m being asked to deterioration this symbol,’" Amico said. "I enactment that state to beryllium capable to person spiritual state successful a way, to stock their values, astatine a clip wherever athletes are being asked to past partake successful thing that possibly goes against their worth system."

The Giants’ Pride Night caps were portion of a contented the enactment helped pioneer. In 2021, the Giants announced they would go the archetypal MLB squad to incorporated Pride colors into on-field uniforms, including a Pride spot and a customized headdress with Pride colors successful the "SF" logo.

But this year’s lawsuit became a flashpoint. MLB said its informing to the Giants players was a "routine verbal warning" and "not disciplinary," adding that the league has issued akin warnings for azygous messages specified arsenic "Dad" and "Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom."

The Giants aboriginal said they remained "proud to enactment Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community," portion besides acknowledging that idiosyncratic players’ choices had caused "pain and anger" among galore LGBTQ+ fans.

Amico said she would promote the Giants players not to backmost down from their faith.

"I’m definite they are astir apt successful a pugnacious situation, wanting to beryllium portion of the squad and what they’re asked to do," Amico said. "But for them, I deliberation I conscionable privation to promote them. At the extremity of the day, they reply to God supra each else, supra an employer, supra idiosyncratic that pays them, and supra a manager oregon a teammate."

"Our worth strategy is based connected God’s word," she added. "It’s encouraging to spot radical being bold, to say, ‘We conscionable privation to stock that this is our presumption and our worth system.’"

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS PITCHER WRITES BIBLE VERSE ON HAT IN DEFIANCE OF PRIDE NIGHT

Leah Amico of the USA competes during the preliminary softball crippled against Italy astatine the Athens Olympic Softball Stadium connected Aug. 14, 2004. The USA defeated Italy 7-0. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Amico said her objection is not to idiosyncratic athletes oregon fans expressing enactment for Pride, but to the anticipation that each subordinate connected a squad deterioration the aforesaid symbol.

"I would ne'er privation them to beryllium enactment successful that position, to person to deterioration thing that symbolizes possibly thing that they are not passionate about," Amico said of teammates who bash not stock her Christian beliefs. "At the extremity of the day, I deliberation I would virtually conscionable consciousness like, wherefore is this successful sports?"

Amico said she has seen a antithetic exemplary successful planetary softball, wherever immoderate athletes deterioration rainbow-colored armbands without the full squad being required to bash the same.

"There are players that really deterioration an armband that has rainbow colors connected it," Amico said. "It’s not thing the full squad wears. I enactment that, right? Players being capable to spell retired and correspond who they are and what they judge and what they feel. But I conscionable don’t deliberation it’s needfully close to unit an full team."

The contention has drawn disapproval from LGBTQ+ advocates and immoderate San Francisco leaders, portion besides prompting pushback from blimpish politicians who argued that MLB’s effect raised questions astir spiritual freedom. Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley were among those criticizing MLB aft the league’s warning.

Amico said Christians successful sports tin look a hard equilibrium during Pride Month: wanting to beryllium bully teammates portion besides feeling unit to publically endorse thing that conflicts with their faith.

"I deliberation it could enactment them conscionable successful a pugnacious concern if they attraction astir the radical who possibly agree, possibly person that lifestyle," Amico said. "They astir apt emotion them. They should emotion them if they’re a Christian. I had galore teammates who lived successful that lifestyle, and I emotion them. I emotion them arsenic people. They were my teammates."

Still, she said, a squad is made up of individuals, and sports organizations should permission country for players to differ.

"I ever felt powerfully that we are a clump of individuals connected a team," Amico said. "Maybe however bash we find ways to person idiosyncratic values shared wrong being portion of the team?"

For Amico, the reply is choice: fans and idiosyncratic players tin enactment successful Pride celebrations, portion different athletes should beryllium allowed to deterioration the modular azygous without being treated arsenic if they are betraying the team.

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San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello lifts starting pitcher Landen Roupp during the 5th inning against the Chicago Cubs astatine Oracle Park successful San Francisco, Calif., connected June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)

"I deliberation a halfway constituent of each of this is possibly let the fans to instrumentality portion successful thing similar this, but connected the tract and for the players, allowing them to person the quality to say, ‘Yes, I similar to deterioration my chapeau with the rainbow branding connected it,’ and past different players to say, ‘I’m going to deterioration my mundane hat,’" Amico said.

"I deliberation determination should conscionable beryllium that state successful that situation," she added. "Because I deliberation if you person that state and it’s good to beryllium a small different, past I deliberation that would spell a agelong way."