After several San Francisco Giants pitchers wrote Bible scriptures on their Pride Night hats during a game, Major League Baseball issued a warning to players not to write on their caps.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri questioned the league’s message to the players in a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred following that warning.
In his response to Hawley’s letter, Manfred is now blaming the San Francisco Giants organization for the kerfuffle.
“@MLB Commissioner writes to me and admits they were wrong to threaten the Giants players over Bible verses and promises never to fine or discipline these players – or any players for their religious beliefs,” Senator Hawley wrote on X alongside a copy of Rob Manfred’s response.
In his letter, Rob Manfred wrote, “MLB agreed to allow them to utilize the hats/uniforms with the emblems provided that no player or uniformed staff would be required to wear them, and that the team would speak to the players to make sure they were comfortable with the apparel.
“Unfortunately, this year the Giants’ communication with players was inadequate and not clear. Some players apparently did not understand that they had the option to wear their normal uniform and elected to add messages to their hats bearing the pride logo as a result. The Giants players were allowed to wear the hats with the biblical references for the entire game. After the game had concluded, my office issued a routine oral warning about the uniform policy violation – unfortunately it was issued before we became aware of the Giants’ lapse in communication.
“The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be.”
So, what happens next?
Of note, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, three of the four Giants’ pitchers at the center of the controversy said they did not feel discriminated against or pressured to wear a Pride hat.
Also, according to the MLB Basic Agreement that all players sign, “No alterations, writing or illustrations, other than as authorized herein, are to be made to any part of the uniform.” As Major League Baseball went on to explain, that includes messages such as “Happy Mother’s Day,” “Dad,” and names of family members – all of which have drawn warnings from the league in the past.
None of which has stopped the U.S. Department of Justice from referring Major League Baseball to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for potential religious discrimination. Last week, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at Department of Justice, said she has launched an investigation into whether the league violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.