MLB commissioner: players will never be fined or disciplined over Bible verse caps

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that the San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps will not face discipline and acknowledged that the league's warning to the players came before MLB learned the team had failed to clearly inform the pitchers they could opt out of wearing the special caps.

"The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be," Manfred wrote in a letter released by Hawley on June 22.

Hawley posted the letter on X, saying MLB had "admit[ted] they were wrong to threaten the Giants players over Bible verses" and had promised "never to fine or discipline these players — or any players for their religious beliefs."

As Zeale News reported, Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker wrote references to Genesis 9 on their Pride Night caps during the team's June 12 game against the Chicago Cubs. A fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, wore the club's standard black cap instead.

>> MLB says Bible verses on Giants' Pride Night caps violated the league’s rules about uniforms <<  

In his response, Manfred said the league adopted a policy in 2023 generally prohibiting clubs from requiring special uniforms or equipment for team-specific celebration events after some players raised religious objections to wearing Pride-themed apparel.

However, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were granted a grandfathered exception allowing Pride-themed caps and uniforms because of longstanding club traditions and the size of the LGBTQ communities in their cities, Manfred wrote. Under that exception, however, no player or uniformed staff member can be required to wear the apparel.

"Unfortunately, this year the Giants communication with players was inadequate and not clear," Manfred wrote. "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."

Manfred said the players were permitted to wear the caps with the biblical references throughout the game and that the league's response consisted only of an oral warning issued afterward.

"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," he wrote.

Manfred defended MLB's uniform policy, which was negotiated with the Major League Baseball Players Association and prohibits players from displaying messages on uniforms or equipment.

"The rationale for the policy is that the league does not desire for its players to become messengers for political or social issues while in uniform playing baseball games because many messages have the potential to offend some segment of our fanbase — even if that was not the intent of the player," he wrote.

Manfred said the rule must be enforced regardless of the message's content and cited prior instances involving personal tributes and messages honoring family members or deceased friends.

The commissioner also said the MLB's position is that players should not be compelled to participate in celebratory events in ways that conflict with their religious beliefs.

"As a league, we agree with the principle that players or other Club employees — at their place of work — should not be compelled to participate in a celebratory event (particularly by wearing something on their person) if such participation would violate their sincere religious beliefs or values," he wrote.

In closing, Manfred said MLB seeks to balance support for diverse fan communities with protections for players' religious convictions.

"We believe that a policy permitting our Clubs to celebrate or honor segments of its fanbase, yet does not require players or other on-field personnel to directly participate in the celebration in ways that make them uncomfortable, strikes the right balance,” he wrote. 

Manfred's letter comes days after Hawley demanded records related to MLB's enforcement of its uniform policies, citing "a pattern of discrimination" against Christian players, and CatholicVote asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate whether the league engaged in unlawful religious discrimination against Christian players.

CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt called Manfred's June 22 letter "great news" in a post on X.