Major League Baseball has issued a statement critical of players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night hats after an incident at a San Francisco Giants game last week.
MLB celebrates Pride month during June and most teams choose a home game to acknowledge the LGBTQ community and its baseball fans. The Giants, who are based in a city with a large LGBTQ population, often make an extra effort.
However, those efforts often clash with the league’s players, many of whom come from conservative, religious backgrounds. During Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, Giants pitchers Landen Roupp and JT Brubaker wrote Bible verses on their Pride caps. Another Giants pitcher, Sam Hentges, chose not to wear the cap at all.
On Monday, MLB issued a statement on the subject. “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” said MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney.
Roupp wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on his cap. The verse contains a reference to a rainbow, one of the symbols of Pride. The verse reads in part: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the Earth.”
He denied that his decision to write on his cap was malicious.
“There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for, and what I stand on: I believe in God,” he said. “It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy. 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.”
Hentges said he did not appreciate being told to wear the cap.
“It’s just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don’t morally support it. There wasn’t hatred behind it. I think that’s kind of something that’s misinterpreted,” he said. “I don’t hate the LGBTQ community. It’s just something I believed and talked with teammates and family, and they supported it.”
Giants manager Tony Vitello said his players “have the freedom to do what they think is best.” However, he added that: “it’s pretty impressive how the Giants, as an organization, try and embrace the entire community. We don’t want to be divided, but you can divide it up into certain sections, if you know what I mean.”
The Giants have said they remain committed to Pride Night.
“The San Francisco Giants are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community. Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations,” the team said in a statement on Saturday.
“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. We remain grateful to our fans, partners, employees, players, and coaches who help make Pride Night a meaningful celebration.”
