Top prosecutors across the US are taking action against Major League Baseball for issuing warnings San Francisco Giants players for displaying Bible verses on their hats during a Pride Night game.
After the Department of Justice announced it had opened a probe into the league for its actions, several state attorneys general said they planned to investigate MLB’s conduct.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Saturday morning that he sent an investigative subpoena to the league “to determine how their selective enforcement of uniform rules may discriminate against Christians.”
It comes after Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway also threatened to open an investigation.
“By forcing players to promote political and religious beliefs that they disagree with on pain of discipline, MLB is betraying a core tenet of American law and civic culture,” Hanaway said.
On Thursday, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced that her office had referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for investigation.
“They don’t mind when players are taking a knee and exhibiting all kinds of stuff on the job, but when people are pushing back on being forced to promote a sexual practice that is against their religion, they’re threatening them,” Dhillon told The California Post.
The controversy erupted after Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on their rainbow-themed Pride Night caps during a game last week against the Chicago Cubs. The Bible passage references God’s covenant with Noah and describes the rainbow as a sign of that promise.
After an MLB spokesman confirmed the players had received a uniform warning, the league later clarified that the warning was “not disciplinary” and “had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message.”
The league noted that MLB’s uniform regulations prohibit players from writing any messages on apparel or equipment and that similar warnings have been issued for personal messages such as “Dad” or “Happy Mother’s Day.”
Dhillon rejected the MLB’s rationale, pointing to the fact that the league allowed players to wear “Black Lives Matter” patches on uniforms, calling it a “double standard.”
Uthmeier praised the federal inquiry and said Florida would determine if MLB’s uniform rules discriminated against Christians. The league has two teams in Florida, while many more hold spring training in the Sunshine State.
“Major League Baseball claims it does not tolerate discrimination based on religion, yet its actions tell a different story,” Uthmeier said in a statement.
His office asked MLB to produce documents by July 23 on uniform rules, enforcement history and other internal documentation. The subpoena was issued under the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
In her letter to the MLB, Hanaway said she would open a probe unless the league promised not discipline players for refusing to wear Pride Night uniforms and for writing Bible verses on hats. Missouri also has two MLB teams.
“As America’s pastime, baseball should not discriminate against the moral, political or religious beliefs of any player,” she said.
The Post contacted the MLB for comment.
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