MLB under investigation for alleged religious discrimination after warning players over Bible verse inscriptions on caps
OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:29 PM – Friday, June 19, 2026
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a subpoena to Major League Baseball (MLB) to investigate a controversy in which it warned three San Francisco Giants players against inscribing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.
Uthmeier’s office announced in a Friday press release that the professional baseball league would be probed for possibly engaging in religious discrimination by “punishing Christian players for displaying Bible verses while routinely permitting and even encouraging secular, ‘social justice,’ and ideological messages.”
“Major League Baseball claims it does not tolerate discrimination based on religion, yet its actions tell a different story,” the attorney general stated. “If MLB applauds ideological messages it prefers while reprimanding expressions of Christian faith, that is not neutral rule enforcement—it is religious discrimination that cannot stand in Florida.”
Last Friday, the San Francisco Giants held a Pride celebration, including festivities before and during the game and a fireworks show afterward, featuring music from LGBT+ artists such as Queen.
The team was issued pride-themed rainbow baseball caps, which starting pitcher Landen Roupp, along with players J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker, decorated with handwritten Bible verses.
The players referenced Genesis 9:12-16. These verses recount a moment in the famous story of Noah’s ark in which God creates the first rainbow, declaring it to be a sign of His covenant with all living creatures on the earth and His promise never to flood the planet again.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB Chief Communications Officer Pat Courtney said in a statement to the media after the players were issued formal warnings about the inscriptions.
However, Uthmeier’s office raised questions about the validity of the warning when considering previous uniform modifications for personal expression that were permitted. He described these instances in a letter to MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr.
“In 2020, MLB evidently added new, sweeping exceptions to its uniform rules by allowing players to ‘support social justice and diversity and inclusion.’ These policy changes included permitting players to add Black Lives Matter patches to their sleeves. MLB allowed Black Lives Matter to be etched into the pitcher’s mound. The changes also permitted players to use their cleats to display social justice messages and causes,” Uthmeier recounted. “As a final example, in 2021, several pitchers from the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers wrote ‘51’ on their caps to honor a fellow player. Another player wrote on his bat knob, which has now been memorialized in a baseball card.”
Florida’s investigative subpoena was issued under the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It requires the following documents by July 23rd:
- All uniform and equipment rules, including the provisions cited for last week’s warning;
- A complete history of the enforcement of the uniform regulations beginning in 2020;
- Documentation of any relaxations of rules for “Permitted Expression,” and how the MLB distinguishes these from religious expression;
- Policies on “Pride Night” apparel expectations and any consequences for players’ declining to participate;
- Internal deliberations on the “Pride Night” warning, including any complaints received;
Uthmeier outlined both the Florida Civil Rights Act and the MLB Workplace Code of Conduct’s prohibitions of religious discrimination, harassment and bullying in his message to Manfred.
“A pattern or practice of selectively enforcing its rules to benefit favored secular beliefs over disfavored religious beliefs would not only potentially violate Florida civil rights law, but it would also violate the League’s own policies,” Uthmeier warned the commissioner. “And a practice of claiming not to discriminate based on religion while discriminating based on religion could further amount to an unfair or deceptive trade practice in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.”
Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Department Harmeet Dhillon also sent a letter to Manfred announcing that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) would also investigate the issue.
“Federal law is clear: employers must modify their uniform requirements to reasonably accommodate their employees’ exercise of religion,” Dhillon wrote, referencing EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that an employer may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act even without an explicit request from an employee for a religious accommodation.
“MLB has asserted that its warning to the Giants players “had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message” and that it merely is enforcing a policy that prohibits writing on uniforms,” she continued. “Yet, MLB has allowed players to wear uniform patches reading ‘Black Lives Matter.’ This double standard—under which players may not inscribe Bible verses on hats for one game only but may wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches for one game only—calls MLB’s true motives into question and raises serious concerns about MLB’s compliance with Title VII.”
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