Major League Baseball issued a stern warning to the San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on the team's Pride Night hats over the weekend.
Three San Francisco Giants pitchers received an official "warning" from Major League Baseball for writing Bible verses on their rainbow-themed Pride Night hats over the weekend. MLB warned the players that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated moving forward.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” Pat Courtney, MLB’s chief communications officer, told The Athletic in a statement that Outsports first reported.
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Giants right-hander Landen Roupp started the game with “Gen 9:12-16” written on his cap, while other Giants pitchers – relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker – also came into the game with Bible verses written onto their hats.
Roupp defended his decision.
“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp said. “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.”
Multiple athletes speak out in support of Giants players
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Thompson is among those defending the San Francisco Giants pitchers.
"A lot of the hate comes from perceived negativity," Thompson said. "I think that there’s a perceived negativity with this stuff of like, OK, Landen Roupp wrote a verse on his hat, that means that he’s anti-something. That doesn’t mean that, right? It means that he’s pro-something."
"So the rainbow means something to him," Thompson continued. "It means he believes in the Noahic covenant being something that’s special to us as Christians, right? That means that no matter how bad we possibly could be, no matter how much we reject God, that He will never again flood the earth. That’s really cool, that’s really special."
Meanwhile, former Minnesota Vikings captain Jack Brewer is "urging" Giants players to not back down.
"My message to all you San Francisco Giants players is we got your back," Brewer told Fox News Digital. "Keep on standing, keep on speaking out. As they fine you, we’ll buy more jerseys."
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance spoke out, as well.
Major League Baseball is standing by its warning.
