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Leah Amico, a three-time Olympic softball gold medalist for Team USA, says she thinks she would have written a Bible verse on a Pride Night cap if she had been forced to wear one to a game.
“I think I would,” Amico told Pak Gazette Digital when asked if he would write a Bible verse on the cover.
“I guess in some ways I feel like it would be similar to saying everyone should wear a cross on their jersey, but I would never expect that with my teammates who don’t believe the same,” he added of players having to wear Pride-themed caps.
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Softball player Leah O’Brien-Amico poses for a portrait during the USOC Media Summit at the Marriott Marquis in New York, NY, on May 15, 2004. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The comments from Amico, a three-time Olympic gold medalist with USA Softball and a three-time NCAA national champion at Arizona, came after Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps during San Francisco’s June 12 game at Oracle Park.
Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his cap, with part of the biblical reference superimposed on the rainbow-colored “SF” logo used for the team’s Pride Night uniform. The passage refers to the rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant. MLB later issued a warning, saying the problem was not the content of the message, but that any type of writing on the uniforms violates league rules.
Amico said he saw the players’ decision as a statement of religious conviction rather than hostility.
“Of course, as a fellow Christian, I thought it was a bold statement for them to be able to say, ‘Hey, I have a belief that’s different than the reason you’re asking me to wear this symbol,'” Amico said. “I support that freedom to be able to have religious freedom in some way, to share your values, at a time when athletes are being asked to participate in something that maybe goes against their value system.”
The Giants’ Pride Night caps were part of a tradition the organization helped promote. In 2021, the Giants announced that they would become the first MLB team to incorporate Pride colors into on-field uniforms, including a Pride patch and a custom cap featuring Pride colors in the “SF” logo.
But this year’s event became a flashpoint. MLB said its warning to Giants players was a “routine verbal warning” and “non-disciplinary,” adding that the league has issued similar warnings for uniform messages such as “Dad” and “Happy Mother’s Day, I love Mom.”
The Giants later said they were “proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community,” while acknowledging that individual players’ decisions had caused “pain and anger” among many LGBTQ+ fans.
Amico said he would encourage Giants players not to back down in their faith.
“I’m sure they’re probably in a tough spot, wanting to be a part of the team and what they’re being asked to do,” Amico said. “But I guess I just want to encourage them. At the end of the day, they answer to God above all else, above an employer, above someone who pays them and above a coach or a teammate.”
“Our value system is based on the word of God,” he added. “It’s encouraging to see people be bold and say, ‘We just want to share that this is our vision and our value system.'”
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS PITCHER WRITES BIBLE VERSE ON HAT IN DEFIANCE ON PRIDE NIGHT
Leah Amico of the United States competes during the preliminary softball game against Italy at the Olympic Softball Stadium in Athens on August 14, 2004. The United States defeated Italy 7-0. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Amico said his objection is not to individual athletes or fans expressing support for Pride, but to the expectation that all players on a team wear the same symbol.
“I would never want them to be put in that position, to have to wear something that symbolizes maybe something they’re not passionate about,” Amico said of teammates who don’t share his Christian beliefs. “At the end of the day, I think I would literally ask myself: Why does this happen in sports?”
Amico said he has seen a different model in international softball, where some athletes wear rainbow-colored armbands without the entire team having to do the same.
“There are players who actually wear a rainbow-colored armband,” Amico said. “It’s not something that the whole team uses. I support that, right? That the players can go out and represent who they are, what they believe and what they feel. But I don’t think it’s necessarily right to force it on an entire team.”
The controversy has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and some San Francisco leaders, while drawing pushback from conservative politicians who argued that MLB’s response raised questions about religious freedom. Vice President JD Vance and Senator Josh Hawley were among those who criticized MLB after the league’s warning.
Amico said Christians in sports can face a difficult balance during Pride Month: wanting to be good teammates while also feeling pressure to publicly endorse something that conflicts with their faith.
“I think it could put them in a difficult situation if they worry about people who maybe agree, maybe have that lifestyle,” Amico said. “They probably love them. They should love them if they’re Christians. I had a lot of teammates who lived that lifestyle, and I love them. I love them as people. They were my teammates.”
Still, he said, a team is made up of individuals and sports organizations should leave room for players to differ.
“I always felt strongly that we are a group of individuals on a team,” Amico said. “Maybe how we can find ways to share individual values by being part of the team?”
For Amico, the answer is choice: Fans and individual players can participate in Pride celebrations, while other athletes should be allowed to wear the standard uniform without being treated as if they were betraying the team.
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San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello lifts starter Landen Roupp during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, on June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Image Images)
“I think a central point of all of this is maybe allowing fans to participate in something like this, but on the field and for the players, allowing them to have the ability to say, ‘Yes, I prefer to wear my rainbow branded cap,’ and then other players say, ‘I’m going to wear my everyday cap,'” Amico said.
“I think there should be that freedom in that situation,” he added. “Because I think if you have that freedom and it’s okay to be a little bit different, then I think that would be a big help.”
