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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their LGBT pride night caps won’t face discipline, as he seeks to reassure lawmakers and fans amid a growing debate over faith, free expression and the league’s forced adherence to LGBT ideology.
In a letter made public Monday by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Manfred said the league’s warning to several Giants players was not motivated by hostility toward Christianity but stemmed from a longstanding uniform policy that generally prohibits players from adding personal messages to league-approved apparel.
The letter from Manfred comes less than a week after Hawley wrote to the MLB Commissioner expressing concern about what he referred to as a “pattern of discrimination within MLB against players who profess their Christian faith.”
Hawley’s letter to Manfred comes after the MLB threatened to discipline San Francisco Giants players for writing Bible verses on the custom baseball caps they were ordered to wear during the team’s LGBT pride night.
Manfred assured Hawley that the players would not face any formal consequences for putting the scripture references on their caps.
“By warning the Giants players that they may not include Bible verses on their caps in the future, MLB was not discriminating or chastising those players based on their religious beliefs; rather MLB was enforcing (with only an oral warning) a long-standing, collectively bargained rule that keeps uniforms clean and avoids controversy,” said Manfred. “The rule has been similarly applied to a variety of messages, some as innocuous as messages to a player’s mother or honoring a deceased friend.”
“The Giants players were allowed to wear the hats with the biblical references for the entire game,” Manfred said. “After the game had concluded, my office issued a routine oral warning about the uniform policy violation. The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be.”
He continued: “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 make them uncomfortable, strikes the right balance.”
In his letter to Manfred last week, Hawley cited reports that Giants players were warned after writing Bible verses on special pride night caps.
“The freedom to live out one’s faith does not end at the ballpark gate,” Hawley wrote. “Americans of every creed are entitled to confidence that the institutions of our national pastime will not single out religious expression for punishment while celebrating messages of the league’s own choosing.”
At the center of the controversy were several San Francisco Giants players who modified pride night caps with Scripture references during the team’s forced celebration of LGBT ideology.
Pitcher Landon Roupp wrote Genesis 9:12-16 on his cap, a passage describing God’s covenant with humanity and the rainbow as a sign that He would never again destroy the Earth with a flood.
Roupp was among a handful of players on the San Francisco Giants who gained national attention for altering their pride night caps to include Bible verses.
Reliever JT Brubaker included a shortened reference to the same passage, Genesis 9:13-15. Another reliever, Sam Hentges, declined to wear the pride night cap altogether.
The players’ actions quickly attracted national attention and sparked renewed discussion about the role of religious expression in professional sports.
Manfred claimed that MLB doesn’t require players to participate in pride night celebrations if doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs.
“We understand that some players or other on-field personnel have not been comfortable wearing the pride emblem on the uniform based on their religious beliefs,” he wrote.
“As a league, we agree with the principle that players or other club employees — at their place of work — should not be compelled to participate in a celebratory event (particularly by wearing something on their person) if such participation would violate their sincere religious beliefs or values.”
Manfred said MLB adopted a policy in 2023 limiting the use of special uniforms, hats and equipment during theme nights, although exceptions have occasionally been granted.
The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers both decided to have players wear LGBT pride night apparel this year, he said, provided no player or staff member was required to wear it.
According to Manfred, confusion within the Giants organization contributed to the situation.
Putting it off on the players, Manfred said, “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.”
Manfred added that MLB’s warning to the players was issued before league officials became aware that the Giants had not clearly communicated the policy.
“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,” Manfred continued.
“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 make them uncomfortable, strikes the right balance.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
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The Christian Post
Last modified: July 17, 2026
