Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told Sen. Josh Hawley that San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verse references on their Pride Night hats will not face fines or discipline over the incident. In a June 19 letter, Manfred said MLB’s office issued a routine oral warning after Giants players added biblical references to caps with the team’s Pride logo.
Background
The controversy began after Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verse references on rainbow-logo caps during the team’s June 12 Pride Night game. Roupp wrote ‘Gen 9:12-16,’ referring to a passage from Genesis that describes the rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant after the flood.
MLB initially said the writing violated league rules against players altering uniforms or equipment. However, Manfred acknowledged that MLB has tried to avoid putting players in the position of being required to take part in commemorative events that may conflict with their religious beliefs or values.
The Giants’ communication with players this year was ‘inadequate and not clear,’ and some players did not understand they had the option to wear their normal uniform and added messages to the Pride caps ‘as a result,’ Manfred said.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
