MLB warns players who displayed verses for Pride Night game

Major League Baseball issued a warning Monday to three pitchers for the San Francisco Giants after they appeared at a game with Bible verses on their caps. The players displayed the verses on Friday during a game promoted as Pride Night, where the team wore hats with a rainbow-colored Giants logo. MLB informed the players that similar behavior would not be tolerated in the future, the league’s chief communications officer, Pat Courtney, told The Athletic. The writing on the cap violated the MLB’s rules, Courtney added.

WORLD reached out to MLB for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

What verses did the player display? Right-handed pitcher Landen Roupp referenced Genesis 9:12-16 on his cap. Those verses discuss the rainbow covenant God made with Noah after the flood. Roupp, originally from North Carolina, told reporters after the game that he displayed his faith to share about God’s covenant and faithfulness, and mercy. He said he was thankful to live in a country where he had the freedom to believe and express what he wanted.

Relief pitchers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker had similar passages on their caps. Additionally, reliever Sam Hentges did not wear the Pride Night cap, telling reporters he was morally against it. The players’ decisions received both backlash and support on social media.

In a statement to the San Francisco Standard, the Giants apologized for the players’ verses, saying they caused “pain and anger” to many in the LGBTQ community. The team added that the players’ choices did not impact its commitment to inclusion.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher’s report for The World and Everything in It on the new technologies impacting professional baseball.