Sen. Hawley says MLB admits error in warning Giants players over Bible verses

The MLB commissioner said in a letter that the Giants did not adequately inform the players that gay pride caps were optional, Hawley said.

Major League Baseball (MLB) will not punish the three San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their caps during the team’s gay pride celebrations and blamed the incident on poor communication from the franchise, according to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.

Hawley posted a letter on X, which he said he received from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred after the senator accused the league of discrimination and the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into the matter.

The incident stemmed from the Giants’ June 12 “Pride Night,” in which most players wore caps that infused a gay pride rainbow into the team logo. Three players inscribed Bible verses on the caps, with one referencing Genesis 9:12-16, in which God tells Noah the rainbow is “the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come” and promises to never flood the entire Earth again.

After the game, the Giants apologized for the players causing “pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community” and the MLB issued warnings, which Manfred said was simply enforcing its content-neutral prohibition on writing messages on uniforms.

In the letter Hawley posted, Manfred said players cannot be forced to wear the pride-inspired uniform, but blamed the Giants for not properly communicating to players that it is optional.

He said “the Giants’ communication with players was inadequate and not clear” but the MLB warnings to the players were delivered before the league became aware of that.

“Some players apparently did not understand that they had the option to wear their normal uniform and elected to add messages to their hats bearing the pride logo as a result,” the commissioner added.

He said the players “were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be.” He said the MLB “believes in the right of our players and fans to express their religious beliefs and at the same time supports the communities in this country that are fans of our clubs, including the LGBTQ community.”

“We believe that a policy permitting our clubs to celebrate or honor segments of its fanbase, yet does not require players or other on-field personnel to directly participate in the celebration in ways that makes them uncomfortable, strikes the right balance,” he wrote.

Neither the MLB nor the Giants responded to requests for comment from EWTN News about the letter.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, sent a letter to Manfred last week to inform him that the DOJ will use all available means to hold employers accountable for any discrimination against Christians and that the incident was referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In spite of the MLB’s position that the policy banning written messages is content-neutral, the DOJ letter contends that the league has a “double standard” when it comes to enforcement, noting that players were allowed to wear “Black Lives Matter” messages in spite of the general prohibition.

This incident came less than a month after the Washington Nationals fired Sean Hudson, its former director of community relations, for saying the team tries to avoid the inclusion of pitcher Trevor Williams in promotional materials because of his Catholic faith.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, urged the Justice Department to reexamine the MLB’s antitrust exemption because of the incident and to investigate potential patterns of discriminatory actions.