(LifeSiteNews) — The U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division warned Major League Baseball (MLB) that she is requesting an investigation of its threat to discipline three San Francisco Giants pitchers who inscribed Scripture verses on their team’s “Pride Night” hats.
When the San Francisco Giants issued hats to team members with LGBTQ “pride” rainbow colors on the logos, three Christian players wrote Bible verse numbers on the hats to signify their support for the biblical meaning of the rainbow instead of its modern association with homosexuality. One player refused to wear the “pride” cap.
Giants pitcher Landen Roupp took the lion’s share of the heat for inscribing Genesis 9:12-16 on his Pride Night cap. Genesis 9:12-16 recounts God’s covenant with Noah and his descendants through the sign of the rainbow.
In response, MLB issued a warning to the players, telling the LGBT sports site, Outsports, “The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations.”
Assistant AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillion on Thursday published a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred warning him that the Department of Justice “will use all available means to hold employers accountable for violating the religious rights of their employees.”
“Major League Baseball encouraged players to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on their uniforms but reportedly threatened Christians who write Bible verses on their hats. @USEEOC will investigate whether this amounts to religious discrimination,” she announced on X, where she posted the letter.
She pointed out in the letter that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone because of their religion. Employers are required to “reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious observance” unless doing so would “impose undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”
By warning and/or considering disciplining the players who inscribed Scripture verses, MLB has unreasonably burdened the rights of the players with religious objections to the hats, Dhillon suggested.
She said MLB has further demonstrated a double standard by allowing players to wear uniform patches reading “Black Lives Matter” as it claims that the warning to the Giants players has “absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message” and that it merely prohibits writing on uniforms.
“The Trump administration is committed to combating religious discrimination,” declared Dhillon, informing Manfred that she has referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation.
Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri also wrote a letter demanding answers from Manfred, suggesting that the league may have discriminated against its employees on the basis of religion.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway also issued a warning to MLB, noting that “Missouri law prohibits discrimination based on religious beliefs.”
“My office is demanding that MLB not discriminate against players for their faith. If MLB refuses to comply, we will take action,” she wrote.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and actor and comedian Rob Schneider also criticized the MLB for condemning the Christian players.