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The U.S. Department of Justice has referred Major League Baseball to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation after the league warned San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on Pride Night caps.
The controversy began after Giants starter Landen Roupp and relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps during San Francisco’s June 12 game against the Chicago Cubs. Roupp wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on his cap, with part of the reference overlapping the rainbow-colored “SF” logo used for the event.
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San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his Pride-Night themed hat. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
MLB issued a warning about future uniform violations, saying the problem was not the content of the Bible verses, but the act of writing on a game uniform. The league later clarified that the warning was “not disciplinary” and had “absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” adding that its uniform rules prohibit writing or displaying personal messages on apparel or equipment unless authorized by the league.
Now, in a June 18 letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division accused the league of potentially infringing on the religious rights of Giants players.
The letter, submitted by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, said the department has “referred this matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation.”
Dhillon pointed to MLB’s 2020 decision to allow players to wear “Black Lives Matter” patches on their jersey sleeves during Opening Day games, as well as related social justice messages on league-sanctioned apparel.
“This double standard — under which players may not inscribe Bible verses on hats for only one game, but may wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches for only one game — calls into question MLB’s true motives,” the DOJ letter said.
ROGER CLEMENS QUESTIONS MLB’S WARNING TO GIANTS PITCHERS WHO WROTE BIBLE VERSE ON PRIDE NIGHT HATS
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello lifts starting pitcher Landen Roupp during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)
“The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the league’s vehicle for pro-Pride messaging.”
The department framed the case as a potential Title VII issue. Under EEOC guidance, federal law requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would create a substantial burden on the employer’s business. The EEOC also says religious accommodations can include exceptions to workplace dress and grooming rules.
“The federal law is clear: Employers must modify their uniform requirements to reasonably accommodate their employees’ practice of religion,” the DOJ letter states.
“The Department of Justice will use every means available to hold employers accountable for violating the religious rights of their employees.”
So far, MLB has not announced fines or suspensions associated with the Giants’ caps. But with the DOJ’s referral to the EEOC, the controversy is no longer confined to baseball’s internal rulebook. It’s now a federal religious accommodation issue centered on the collision between Pride Night attendance, the league’s uniform controls and players’ rights under Title VII.
Roupp addressed his reasoning for writing the verse after Friday’s game and saying the verse is about representing “God’s covenant”.
“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he gives us, as you know, his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp told reporters. “That’s just something I believe and I stand by that and I’m thankful that we live in a country where you know we have the freedom to believe what we want … and express what we want.
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“There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for and what I stand for. I believe in God.”
Genesis 9:12-16 is a passage from the Bible. The passage says that God established the rainbow as an eternal sign of the covenant made with Noah and every living creature. It goes on to state that when God sees the rainbow, he will remember his “eternal covenant” to preserve all life on earth from another global flood.
Pakinomist Digital has reached out to MLB for comment.
