San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp was among players warned for including an inscription of a Bible verse on his Pride Night hat during a loss Friday to the Chicago Cubs. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
MLB issued warnings to several San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on Pride Night hats, pointing to rule violations.
Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker each sported Biblical references on their hats during a 5-1 loss the Chicago Cubs on Friday in San Francisco.
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between MLB and the MLBPA states that players who violate uniform regulations will first receive warnings, specifying that they will be subject to further discipline if they do not “immediately cease violating” the regulations.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB said in a statement.
The players union declined to comment on the matter.
Second violations of the CBA uniform rules include a $1,000 fine. Third and fourth violations include respective fines of $5,000 and $10,000. A fourth violation also makes players ineligible for games until their uniforms are in compliance.
MLB issued another statement to UPI on Tuesday morning, stating that its warning had “absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message” on the hats.
“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” MLB said. “We respect players’ right to free expression. However, writing of any kind, with any message, is prohibited per Major League Baseball’s uniform regulations which provides in part that, ‘[a] player may not write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment…
“We have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as ‘Dad, Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom’ and names of family members.”
The Giants celebrated Pride Night on Friday at Oracle Park. Fans who attended received Pride Night themed jerseys and were treated to a postgame fireworks show, with music provided by LGBTQIA+ artists. Proceeds from the special event ticket benefited local LGBTQIA+ organizations.
Roupp, 27, wore a hat with “Gen 9:12-16” written on the front, just to the side of the Giants team logo. He allowed four hits and four runs over 4 2/3 innings to drop to 5-7 this season.
Brubaker, 32, entered in the sixth inning. His hat featured “Genesis 9:13-15,” which also was written near the Giants logo. He allowed just one hit over two shutout innings.
Walker, 30, pitched in the ninth. He also included a message on his hat, but it was not visible on the broadcast. He did not allow a hit or a run to the Cubs. Fellow Giants pitcher Sam Hentges, 29, opted to wear a plane black Giants cap inside of a Pride Night hat. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning,
Genesis 9:12-16 reads: “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Roupp told reporters in his postgame news conference that “there is no hate at all,” when questioned about his decision to include the writing on his hat.
“The rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant to us, and us as believers stand firm in that,” Roupp said. “It’s not anything, you know, there is no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for.”
Giants manager Tony Vitello said the players’ decision to wear the messages on their hats was not discussed with him before the game.
“It’s just kind of a general knowledge of the individuals have the freedom to do what they think is best,” Vitello told reporters. “I do think its been apparent from Day 1, actually in some of the exhibition games, it’s pretty impressive how the Giants as an organization try and embrace the entire community.”
Several other current and former players also have references the same Bible verse on their Pride Night hats or chosen not to wear the hat, including Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw and relief pitcher Blake Treinen.
The Giants (29-43) sit in fourth place in the National League West, 16.5 games behind the division-leading Dodgers (46-27). They will battle the MLB-best Atlanta Braves (46-25) at 7:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Atlanta.
