Update June 24, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated with new information about MLB’s response.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred acknowledged in a letter to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that the league handed down warnings to several San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their team-issued rainbow Pride Night caps before learning they had not been clearly told the hats were optional.
The controversy erupted June 12 when three Giants pitchers added Bible references beside the Pride emblem on caps issued for the team’s annual Pride Night celebration. Starting pitcher Landen Roupp wrote, “Genesis 9:12 through 16,” in reference to the passage describing the rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant with Noah.
MLB initially warned the players that the additions violated its uniform policy, which ignited accusations that the league was selectively punishing Christian expression. League brass later clarified the warning was not disciplinary and had “absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” instead insisting players are prohibited from adding any writing to team apparel.
Sen. Hawley, however, was not satisfied by the explaination and demanded answers over what he called MLB’s “apparent pattern of discriminating against Christians while promoting left-wing ideologies” in a letter sent to Commissioner Manfred on June 16.
On Monday, he posted the response he received from Manfred late last week and later called it a “great outcome.”
In his response, Manfred placed the blame squarely on the Giants organization, arguing the team failed to clearly inform players that they were not required to wear the Pride-themed caps and could instead wear their normal uniforms.
The commissioner reiterated the league’s prohibition on players adding messages to their apparel regardless of the content and outlined how the exemption for Pride Night came to exist. Since 2023, teams have generally been banned from altering uniforms for club-level theme nights, but the league granted the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers permission to continue wearing Pride-themed apparel under a grandfathered exception.
The condition? No player or staff member would be required to wear it.
According to Manfred, some Giants players did not understand they had that choice, which is what lead them to add Bible references to the Pride caps they apparently believed were mandatory. He conceded MLB issued its oral warning before learning of the team’s communication failure and made clear the players were never fined or disciplined and never will be.
Original article from June 17, 2026 below:
Three San Francisco Giants pitchers received a warning from Major League Baseball this week after writing Bible verses to their team-issued caps during last Friday’s ‘Pride Night’ game against the Chicago Cubs.
The Controversy
As reported on Wednesday’s AM Update, starting pitcher Landen Roupp (above) wrote “Genesis 9: 12 through 16” beside the Giants’ rainbow-colored logo. The passage describes God placing a rainbow in the clouds as the sign of His covenant with Noah and promising never again to destroy all life with a flood.
After the game, Roupp told reporters he intended the message to be an expression of his Christian faith:
REPORTER: Why was it important to make that known tonight?
ROUPP: Kind of what the verse says, you know, the rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant to us and us as believers stand firm in that. But… there’s no hate at all. It’s just what I want to stand for, and what I stand in. I believe in God… I think God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don’t think I’ll be here right now if it wasn’t for him.”
Relief pitchers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also took the mound with Bible verse references on their Pride Night hats, while a fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, declined to wear the special-issue hat altogether. Instead, he took the field in the Giants’ traditional black-and-orange cap.
Hentges was asked about his decision after the game. “It’s just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don’t morally support it,” he told the media. “There wasn’t hatred behind it. I think that’s kind of something that’s misinterpreted.”
Apology Tour
MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney released a statement Monday condemning the players’ actions. “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” it read.
Separately, the Giants organization issued its own apology. “We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that,” the statement read. “Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all.”
But the backlash from those supporting the pitchers was swift. Following the criticism over its initial response, MLB later clarified in a follow-up statement that the warning was not disciplinary and had “absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message.”
The league explained its uniform regulations prohibit players from writing anything on team apparel or equipment. ”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,” it claimed.
The limited-edition Pride hats were first approved by the team brass in 2021 when the team CEO declared the men allies of the LGBTQ+ community. “But apparently not the biblical community,” Megyn noted, “which is too divisive.”
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