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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., received a letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred regarding San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps, saying they would face no discipline for what has now been called a controversial moment.
Hawley, making an appearance on “The Will Cain Show,” was pleased with the response from Manfred and MLB.
“It looks like they’re admitting they’re wrong, Will, which is exactly the case,” Hawley told Cain. “I mean, the commissioner admitted in that letter that he shouldn’t have warned ‘the players.’
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., interviews Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building, Jan. 15, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Frankly, I don’t care who he blames, as long as he admits he’s wrong, as long as the players’ religious freedom rights are protected.”
Hawley added that he thought it was a “great outcome” despite having to contact MLB about it.
MLB COMMISSIONER TELLS SENATOR. HAWLEY GIANTS PLAYERS WILL NOT BE DISCIPLINED TO FOLLOW BIBLE VERSES ABOUT PRIDE NIGHT HATS
“I want to emphasize that it is the commissioner of baseball who is responding to me,” he explained. “He said that no player at any club will be required to wear this kind of uniform with a political message. Furthermore, no one will be discriminated against on the basis of their religious faith.
“Now this should be common sense, Will. The fact that we had to go through all of this – I had to threaten to take him before the Senate, put him under oath. He’s under investigation, the league is for other things. The whole thing is ridiculous. It was stupid of Major League Baseball to do all that, but I’m glad they admitted they were wrong.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his Pride-Night-themed hat. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“It’s true that Major League Baseball admits there was a big mistake here, and it’s true that the First Amendment is protected in Major League Baseball. I hope that moves forward.”
A Giants player chose not to wear the Pride Night hat on June 12 at Oracle Park. Reliever Sam Hentges instead wore the team’s standard black and orange hat during the game.
But it was pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker who all wrote Bible verses over the rainbow logo on Giants caps during the team’s game that sparked controversy. Roupp wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on his cap, which references a passage in Genesis describing the rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant after the flood.
MLB initially said the writing violated league rules prohibiting players from altering their uniforms or equipment. And in the letter to Hawley, Manfred noted that the rule was collectively negotiated with the MLBPA and prohibits players from writing, attaching, affixing, embroidering or otherwise displaying messages on clothing or equipment.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello lifts starting pitcher Landen Roupp during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)
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“The policy is applied without regard to the substance of the message,” Manfred wrote in his letter. The purpose of the rule is to prevent players from posting political or social messages, but religious freedom falls under the First Amendment, which was Hawley and others’ argument all along.
“Let’s get back to God and our country and play baseball and stop all this woke trash,” Hawley concluded.
