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The U.S. Department of Justice has referred Major League Baseball to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation after the league warned San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on Pride Night caps.
The controversy began after Giants starter Landen Roupp and relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps during San Francisco’s June 12 game against the Chicago Cubs. Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his cap, and part of the reference was superimposed on the rainbow-colored “SF” logo used for the event.
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San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his Pride Night-themed cap. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
MLB issued a warning about future uniform violations, saying the problem was not the content of the Bible verses but the act of writing on a game uniform. The league later clarified that the warning was “non-disciplinary” and “had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” adding that its uniform rules prohibit writing or displaying personal messages on clothing or equipment unless authorized by the league.
Now, in a June 18 letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division accused the league of potentially overburdening the religious rights of Giants players.
The letter, released by Deputy Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, states that the department has “referred this matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for further investigation.”
Dhillon pointed to MLB’s 2020 decision to allow players to wear “Black Lives Matter” patches on the sleeves of their jerseys during Opening Day games, as well as related social justice messages on league-sanctioned apparel.
“This double standard, under which players cannot inscribe Bible verses on caps for a single game but can wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches for a single game, calls into question MLB’s true motives,” the Justice Department letter says.
ROGER CLEMENS QUESTIONS MLB’S WARNING TO GIANT PITCHERS WHO WROTE BIBLE VERSES ON PRIDE NIGHT HATS
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)
“The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unjustifiably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serve as the League’s vehicle for pro-Pride messages.”
The department raised the issue as a potential Title VII issue. Under EEOC guidance, federal law requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would create a substantial burden in the context of the employer’s business. The EEOC also says religious accommodations can include exceptions to workplace dress and grooming rules.
“Federal law is clear: employers must modify their uniform requirements to reasonably accommodate their employees’ religious exercise,” the Justice Department letter says.
“The Department of Justice will use all available means to hold employers accountable for violating the religious rights of their employees.”
For now, MLB has not announced any fines or suspensions related to the Giants’ caps. But with the DOJ’s referral to the EEOC, the controversy is no longer limited to baseball’s internal rules. It is now a federal religious accommodation issue centered on the collision between participation in Pride Night, control of the league’s uniform and players’ rights under Title VII.
Roupp addressed his reasoning for writing the verse after Friday’s game, saying that the verse is trying to represent “the covenant of God.”
“It’s just God’s covenant and a promise that He makes to us, you know, His faithfulness and His mercy,” Roupp told reporters. “That’s something I believe in, and I stand by that, and I’m grateful that we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want… and express what we want.
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“There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for and what I stand for. I believe in God.”
Genesis 9:12-16 is a passage from the Bible. The passage states that God established the rainbow as a perpetual sign of the covenant made with Noah and every living being. He goes on to state that when God sees the rainbow, he will remember his “everlasting covenant” to preserve all life on earth from another global flood.
Pak Gazette Digital has reached out to MLB for comment.
