Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Robert Manfred in response to the league warning San Francisco Giants pitchers for referencing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.

“I write with grave concern over your reported decision to issue a formal warning to three Major League Baseball (MLB) players for publicly expressing their Christian faith. This follows a high-profile undercover investigation that revealed at least one MLB team discriminated against a player based on his Catholic faith. You must answer for what appears to be a pattern of discrimination within MLB against baseball players who profess their Christian faith,” Hawley wrote.

“At a recent baseball game, multiple pitchers for the San Francisco Giants wrote Bible verse references on their caps at a game where players were issued rainbow-patterned hats for ‘Pride Night.’ These verses quote from Genesis 9, which describes God’s design of the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with creation following the flood. For this, your organization has reportedly issued warnings to these players. MLB has said this is a content-neutral policy and that MLB ‘respect[s] players’ right to free expression.’ But this is dubious, given that MLB is openly promoting a political viewpoint and possibly compelling adherence to that viewpoint,” he continued.

“The league’s claim that it merely forbids ‘writing of any kind’ on its uniforms does not survive a cursory review of the league’s recent history. In 2020, MLB itself turned its uniforms and its fields into a billboard for political and social messages. It created jersey patches reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘United for Change.’ It authorized ‘BLM’ to be stenciled onto pitching mounds. And it suspended its own equipment rules so that players could display progressive political slogans on their cleats. The league went beyond tolerating speech—it designed speech, promoted speech, and shoehorned social and political messages into the game broadcast to millions of Americans. Yet when three players added a handful of characters citing the Book of Genesis to their caps, the league reached for its rulebook,” Hawley said.

“This does not appear to be an isolated incident. Your organization’s recent action follows an undercover investigation which revealed an admission from a Washington Nationals executive that a Catholic player on the team was not included in promotional materials for the team because of his faith. That executive has since been fired, but not before the anti-Christian bigotry was exposed…The freedom to live out one’s faith does not end at the ballpark gate. 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. I trust the league shares that commitment, and I look forward to your prompt and complete response,” he added.

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“What does MLB think it’s doing penalizing players for their Christian faith? They owe us some answers. Right now,” Hawley said on X.

Full letter below:

San Francisco starter Landen Roupp had started the night with “Gen 9:12-16” written on his cap.

Relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also cited Bible verses on their caps.

“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB said in a statement

“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 later said.

Baseball Pitchers Who Wrote Bible Verses On Their Hats During Pride Night Given Warning By MLB

"MLB's pride problems aren't going away. Senator Josh Hawley is accusing Major League Baseball of religious discrimination after several San Francisco Giants players were warned for writing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps," Fox News wrote.

"The controversy prompted an apology from the Giants to the LGBTQ+ community, while supporters, like Vice President JD Vance, defended the players and argued that athletes should not be forced to display ideological messages they don't agree with," it continued.

Watch below:

Fox News noted:

There are any number of steps the league could have taken to prevent this controversy from boiling over. But they've chosen, seemingly, selective enforcement based on the statements being made. Would they have warned a player for writing "BLM" on their hat? Or "love is love" or "end racism," or any similar remark? Or are Bible verses where they draw the line?

Manfred's answer, assuming he actually provides a detailed one, will be a fascinating insight into just how committed the league is to elevating one ideology above others.

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