US JUSTICE DEPT INVESTIGATES MLB OVER GIANTS PLAYERS' BIBLE VERSES ON PRIDE HATS

The United States justice department has launched a civil rights investigation into Major League Baseball following the league's response to three San Francisco Giants pitchers who wrote Bible verses on their hats during a Pride Night game on 12 June. Pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker inscribed verses on caps featuring the Giants' logo in rainbow colours during the match against the Chicago Cubs. Pitcher Sam Hentges declined to wear the themed cap entirely. MLB stated that writing on hats violates league rules and warned the players against future violations.

On Thursday, assistant US attorney general Harmeet Dhillon wrote to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred indicating that the justice department had referred the league to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Dhillon stated that federal law requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees' religious exercise and alleged that MLB's discipline constituted unlawful religious discrimination. Dhillon highlighted that MLB had permitted players to wear Black Lives Matter uniform patches in 2020, characterising the differing treatment as a "double standard". Andrea Lucas, chair of the EEOC, reposted Dhillon's letter and stated the agency remained committed to protecting workers' religious liberty, though she noted the agency could not confirm the existence of a formal investigation without court filings or public resolution.

Roupp stated after the Giants' game that his decision to write on his cap was not motivated by malice and that his actions involved "no hate at all". The Giants' Pride Night game was part of MLB's broader practice across its 30 teams of hosting themed games during Pride month to acknowledge the LGBTQ community and its supporters among baseball fans.