On Friday, June 12, 2026, during a Pride Night game at Oracle Park, three San Francisco Giants pitchers wore the team’s rainbow Pride Night caps but added a written reference to Scripture. Starting pitcher Landen Roupp and relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker each inscribed “Gen 9:12-16” on their caps in white letters. A fourth Giants pitcher, Sam Hentges, declined to wear the Pride Night cap at all and instead wore the team’s standard black cap.

The three pitchers referenced Genesis 9:12-16, which records the covenant God made with Noah after the flood. God establishes that the rainbow serves as His token of the covenant between Himself and every living creature upon the earth, that He will not flood the earth with water.

For Pride Night, the players could have chosen other verses. Leviticus 18:22 declares, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, KJV). Leviticus 20:13 states, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13, KJV).

On June 13, the San Francisco Giants issued a public apology to the LGBTQ+ community. The Giants’ communications department distributed a statement directly to reporters rather than posting it publicly.

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. 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.

The organization apologized for the presence of the rainbow covenant passage, even though the players had not inscribed the verses that directly prohibit homosexual conduct. When the San Francisco Giants maintain that they a “commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all” that should read for all but Christians and anyone who does not condone homosexuality.”

Major League Baseball issued verbal warnings to the three players. League officials stated that the writing violated uniform regulations that prohibit any writing, attachment, or display of messages on apparel or equipment. MLB emphasized that the warnings addressed the act of writing itself and bore no relation to the message’s content. The Giants organization apologized to the LGBTQ+ community. No player received a fine or suspension.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and in a public statement, Dhillon observed that Major League Baseball had encouraged players to wear “Black Lives Matter” on their uniforms but reportedly threatened Christians who wrote Bible verses on their hats. She stated that the EEOC would investigate whether this amounted to religious discrimination.

This incident reflects a broader pattern. Organizations have required participation in ideological statements or rituals, whether support for Black Lives Matter messaging or Pride activations. Employees, teachers, and athletes who declined on religious grounds have frequently faced professional consequences. The Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Dhillon is examining such cases of compelled speech and anti-Christian bias.

In 2020, MLB itself authorized “Black Lives Matter” patches on jersey sleeves, “United for Change” messaging, and BLM stenciling on pitching mounds. The league relaxed its uniform rules to permit those displays during Opening Day games and related events.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion. The statute requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious practices and observances unless such accommodations would impose an undue hardship. The EEOC enforces these protections. MLB teams employ players, and the league sets and enforces uniform policies that affect their working conditions.

The MLB applies its rules in a discriminatory manner. The league’s affirmative promotion of one set of messages in 2020 and its swift warning against Scripture references during a league-sponsored Pride Night event contradict the MLB policy of content neutrality.

The practical stakes extend beyond a single game or sport. Employees across many industries encounter institutional pressure to affirm prevailing cultural messages or to suppress expressions of faith. Federal law protects the right to religious exercise in the workplace without retaliation or selective enforcement.

When the high priest and elders commanded the apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, Peter and the other apostles answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, KJV).

Starting pitcher Landen Roupp testified to what the Genesis passage means to him in his postgame presser.

“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp told reporters. “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.”

Later confessors, reformers, and the American founders secured protections for religious liberty precisely because they recognized the danger of public or private institutions punishing believers for fidelity to Scripture.

To read more of Dr. Alexis Littlefield’s writings, subscribe to his personal Substack page.

©2026 Majority Report. All rights reserved.

AUTHOR

Alex Littlefield

Dr. Alexis “Alex” Littlefield, a former Chief of Staff for Christian Action Network, holds a PhD in International Politics and has coordinated high-profile events with congressional staff and administration officials, including assistant secretaries and agency heads.