The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into whether Major League Baseball discriminated against three San Francisco Giants players on religious grounds when it issued them warnings for inscribing Bible verses on their caps during the club’s Pride Night celebration.
In a letter sent to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote that the matter has been referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation.
“The three players expressed their opposition to MLB’s pro-Pride orthodoxy,” Dhillon wrote in the letter, which was posted on X. “The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League’s vehicle for pro-Pride messages.”
The Athletic contacted the Department of Justice for further comment, but did not receive an immediate response. MLB declined to comment when reached by The Athletic, referring back to a previous statement it provided Tuesday.
“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” the league statement read. “We respect players’ right to free expression. … 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.”
Dhillon’s letter pointed to MLB’s previous allowance of players to wear “Black Lives Matter” patches on their uniforms as evidence of a “double standard” that “calls MLB’s true motives into question.”
Those claims echoed recent sentiments from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who wrote a letter to Manfred on Tuesday expressing his concerns over a “pattern of discrimination” against Christian players.
“MLB has said this is a content-neutral policy and that MLB ‘respect(s) players’ right to free expression,’” Hawley wrote. “But this is dubious, given that MLB is openly promoting a political viewpoint and possibly compelling adherence to that viewpoint.”
It is against uniform policy for players to write on hats or modify uniforms in any way, per the most recent collective bargaining agreement. MLB doesn’t always publicize when it warns players about such violations, so it is unknown what warnings the league has issued in the past.
Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote variations of verses from the Book of Genesis on their hats for the team’s Pride Night game on June 12. A fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, declined to wear the hat featuring a rainbow-colored Giants logo, instead opting for the standard black-and-orange Giants hat.
When asked about the hats after the game, Roupp explained that the Bible verse classifies a rainbow as a covenant between God and “every living creature.”
“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp told reporters. “That’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that, and I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want … and express what we want.”
The Giants players were not fined or subject to disciplinary action, but the league issued verbal warnings to Roupp, Brubaker and Walker.
Following widespread backlash, the Giants released a statement reinforcing their support for Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community.
“Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued,” the Giants’ statement read. “We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations. 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. Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all.”
