Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Robert Manfred after the MLB warned players against writing Bible verses on “Pride Night” hats.
“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,” Hawley wrote. “You must answer for what appears to be a pattern of discrimination within MLB against baseball players who profess their Christian faith.”
“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.
Hawley further explained that MLB’s claim that it prohibits “writing of any kind” is inconsistent.
“In 2020, MLB itself turned its uniforms and its fields into a billboard for political and social messages,” he wrote. “It created jersey patches reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘United for Change.'” Hawley emphasized, “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.”
The letter follows San Francisco Giants player Landen Roupp wearing “Gen 9:12-16” on his hat. He told reporters, “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.
When asked what he would say to those pushing back on his choice, he explained that “as a believer, I would push them to read the Bible. God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don’t think I’d be here right now if it wasn’t for him.”
