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‘Time to lawyer up!’ US assistant AG targets MLB after ‘Pride Night’ Bible verse warning

‘What does MLB think it’s doing penalizing players for their Christian faith?’ asked Sen. Josh Hawley, who penned a searing letter to the league’s commissioner demanding answers.
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Antoan Richardson of the San Francisco Giants wears a 'Pride Night' patch at Dodger Stadium on June 16, 2023, in Los Angeles, CaliforniaPhoto by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Doug
Mainwaring
Doug Mainwaring
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(LifeSiteNews) — After Major League Baseball (MLB) issued a warning to three Christian San Francisco Giants pitchers who inscribed a Genesis chapter 9 citation on their team’s specially issued “Pride Night” ball caps, Vice President JD Vance, Sen. Josh Hawley, and multiple state governors and attorneys general have hit back.

Sen. Hawley (R–MO) expressed outrage over MLB’s actions by asking: “‘Warned’ them? For what? Quoting the Bible? That’s now an employment offense?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. God bless these players. MLB has some explaining to do,” said Hawley, who followed up with a letter demanding answers from MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred.

Hawley suggested that the league may have discriminated against its employees on the basis of religion.

“I write with grave concern over your reported decision to issue a formal warning to three Major League Baseball (MLB) players for publicly expressing their Christian faith,” began Hawley. “You must answer for what appears to be a pattern of discrimination within MLB against baseball players who profess their Christian faith.”

Hawley continued:

The league’s claim that it merely forbids “writing of any kind” on its uniforms does not survive a cursory review of the league’s recent history. In 2020, MLB itself turned its uniforms and its fields into a billboard for political and social messages. It created jersey patches reading “Black Lives Matter” and “United for Change.” It authorized “BLM” to be stenciled onto pitching mounds. And it suspended its own equipment rules so that players could display progressive political slogans on their cleats. The league went beyond tolerating speech – it designed speech, promoted speech, and shoehorned social and political messages into the game broadcast to millions of Americans. Yet when three players added a handful of characters citing the Book of Genesis to their caps, the league reached for its rulebook.

This does not appear to be an isolated incident. Your organization’s recent action follows an undercover investigation which revealed an admission from a Washington Nationals executive that a Catholic player on the team was not included in promotional materials for the team because of his faith. That executive has since been fired, but not before the anti-Christian bigotry was exposed.

Hawley gave Commissioner Manfred just three days to respond. 

Vice President JD Vance also took aim at the league’s infelicitous decision.  

“Trump won. We don’t have to do this anymore,” he declared on X. 

“The U.S. EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and state labor laws govern private employer disputes such as these. Time to lawyer up!” warned Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. 

“Missouri law prohibits discrimination based on religious beliefs,” noted Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway. 

“My office is demanding that MLB not discriminate against players for their faith. If MLB refuses to comply, we will take action,” she warned. 

“MLB execs had no issue with acts of protest while cities were burned down by left-wing mobs in 2020. In fact, MLB changed the rules to allow more left-wing messaging!” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. 

“Meanwhile, Christians are singled out and targeted for taking part in a religious protest. Unbelievable,” he added.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves accused the league of exhibiting “a total and absolute lack of judgment.”

“MLB believes the ninth chapter of Genesis, a promise between God and His people, is too controversial for them. MLB also believes that celebrating peoples’ sex lives is mandatory. MLB = Guilty of a total and absolute lack of judgment!”

“The Texas Rangers are the only team in Major League Baseball that doesn’t host a Pride Night. This week, they’re hosting Faith and Family Night instead,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.  

“MLB just warned Giants pitchers for writing Bible verses on their own caps. In Texas, we don’t punish people for living out their faith,” said Abbott. “We protect that right.

Meanwhile, conservative actor and comedian Rob Schneider has stepped up to the plate and offered to pay the fines for any MLB Christian player who wears a Bible verse on their uniform.

“MLB is ANTI-CHRISTIAN,” he declared in all caps.

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