MLB let teams paint "Black Lives Matter" on pitching mounds in 2020 – no warnings, no rulebooks.
Now three Christian pitchers wrote a Bible verse on their hats and the league reached for the punishment handbook.
And Missouri's attorney general just told MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred he has one chance to make this right.
MLB Warned San Francisco Giants Players Over Bible Verses After Blessing BLM in 2020
In 2020, Major League Baseball did not merely allow political speech – it designed it.
The league created jersey patches reading "Black Lives Matter" and "United for Change," stenciled "BLM" onto pitching mounds, and suspended its own equipment rules so players could write left-wing slogans on their cleats.
Six years later, three San Francisco Giants pitchers – Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker – wrote "Gen 9:12-16" on their rainbow-colored Pride Night caps.
The passage describes God's covenant with creation – the same covenant symbolized by the rainbow.
MLB's response: a formal warning that the writing "violates our rules."
Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas called it exactly what it is.
"While they bent over backwards for BLM messaging in 2020, they're cracking down on religious freedom in 2026 – this isn't neutrality, it's political discrimination against faith," Hunt wrote.
Senator Josh Hawley sent his own letter to Commissioner Manfred demanding records on every uniform warning issued in the past five seasons – and every authorization ever given for BLM patches and mound stencils.
Hawley made the logic plain: a rule against "writing of any kind" that was suspended for Black Lives Matter slogans cannot be turned around and enforced against Genesis citations.
"MLB has a sweetheart deal from the federal government," Hawley said. "They play by different rules than any other business in America. But now MLB is using its power to target Christians and trample free speech."
Missouri AG Threatens MLB Investigation Over Christian Players Religious Rights
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway did not write a polite letter.
She cited binding Supreme Court precedent – EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. – establishing that employers can’t make adverse employment decisions to avoid accommodating religious belief, even under the cover of a neutral-sounding policy.
Missouri law – Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.055(1)(a) – makes the same point at the state level: forcing workers to violate their religious convictions is illegal, full stop.
Hanaway also reached for Obergefell v. Hodges – the same ruling that legalized same-sex marriage – to remind Manfred that the decision explicitly protects those who hold religious objections to same-sex marriage as well.
She told Manfred that forcing players to promote beliefs they disagree with on pain of discipline betrays a core tenet of American law and civic culture.
The MLB commissioner was given an ultimatum: by June 25, MLB must confirm in writing that it will not discipline any player who declined to wear Pride Month paraphernalia or who added a Bible verse to the hat.
If Manfred fails to respond, Hanaway will open a formal investigation into whether MLB is violating the religious liberty rights of players and employees in Missouri.
A fourth player, Sam Hentges, skipped the rainbow hat entirely and wore the standard Giants cap – and received no warning from MLB at all.
The league's own statement acknowledged his choice carries no consequence, which means the "neutral uniform rule" defense only applies to the three men who wrote Scripture.
MLB Religious Discrimination Against Christian Players Goes Back Years
Senator Hawley pointed to undercover footage from a James O'Keefe investigation showing Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson admitting his team excluded pitcher Trevor Williams from social media promotions because Williams objected to the Dodgers honoring a drag group at their 2023 Pride Night.
That executive has since been fired.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon weighed in with her own warning to the league: discipline these players and face litigation.
"Time to lawyer up!" Dhillon wrote.
The Supreme Court ruled in Groff v. DeJoy in 2023 that religious accommodation standards are now harder to deny than ever – the hardship employers must demonstrate to refuse accommodation must be substantial, not trivial.
MLB has six days to answer.
The players stood firm on a baseball field in San Francisco – one of the most left-wing cities in the country – and wrote their faith on a hat rather than pretend it didn't exist.
An attorney general and a United States senator are now standing with them.
Sources:
- Jim Hoft, "Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway Gives MLB Until June 25 to Confirm No Punishment for Players Who Refused Pride Paraphernalia," The Gateway Pundit, June 18, 2026.
- Josh Hawley, "Hawley Demands Answers from MLB for Penalizing Christian Players," hawley.senate.gov, June 16, 2026.
- Bradford Betz, "MLB Accused of 'Double Standard' After Calling Out Players' Bible Messages Despite Backing BLM in 2020," Fox News, June 18, 2026.
- Jerry Brewer, "MLB Warns Players Not to Deface Uniforms in Wake of Silent Pride Night Protest," NBC News, June 16, 2026.
- Staff, "MLB Decries Use of Personal Writings on Pride Night Hats," ESPN, June 16, 2026.