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Late. Rep. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., received a letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred regarding the San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps, saying they would face no discipline for what has now been called a controversial moment.
Hawley, who appeared on “The Will Cain Show,” was pleased with the response from Manfred and MLB.
“It looks like they’re admitting they’re wrong, Will, which is exactly the case,” Hawley told Cain. “I mean, the commissioner admitted in that letter that he shouldn’t have warned the ‘players.’ That they have a right not to wear the uniforms, that they have a right to express their religious beliefs. And he said, as you just quoted, ‘No player will ever be disciplined or fined for their religious beliefs.’
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Late. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questions Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I honestly don’t care who he blames for it, as long as he admits he’s wrong, as long as the players’ religious liberties are protected.”
Hawley added that he thought this was a “good result,” despite having to contact MLB about it.
MLB COMMISSIONER TELLS SEN. HAWLEY GIANTS PLAYERS WON’T BE DISCIPLINED OVER BIBLE VERSE AT PRIDE NIGHT HAT
“I want to emphasize that it is the commissioner of baseball who answers to me,” he explained. “He said that no player at any club will be required to wear those kinds of uniforms with political messages. Also, no one will be discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.
“Now that should be common sense, Will. The fact that we had to go through all this—I had to threaten to bring him before the Senate, put him under oath. He’s being investigated, the league is for other things. All of that is ridiculous. It was stupid of Major League Baseball to do any of this, but I admitted they were wrong, but I admitted they were wrong.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his Pride-Night themed hat. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“It’s true that Major League Baseball admits they had a big screw-up here, and it’s true that the First Amendment is protected in Major League Baseball. I hope it will move forward.”
A Giants player opted out of wearing the Pride Night hat on June 12 at Oracle Park. Reliever Sam Hentges instead wore the team’s standard black and orange hat during the game.
But it was pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, who all wrote Bible verses for the rainbow logo on the Giants caps during the team’s game, that sparked controversy. Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his cap, which refers to a passage from Genesis that describes the rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant after the flood.
MLB had initially said the writing violated the league’s rules against players altering their uniforms or equipment. And in the letter to Hawley, Manfred noted that the rule was collectively negotiated with the MLBPA and prohibits players from writing, attaching, affixing, embroidering or otherwise displaying messages on clothing or equipment.
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)
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“The policy is enforced without regard to the content of the message,” Manfred wrote in his letter. The purpose of the rule is to prevent players from displaying political or social messages, but religious freedom falls under the First Amendment, which was Hawley’s argument, and others all along.
“Let’s get back to God and country and play some baseball, and stop all the scumbags,” Hawley concluded.
