By Sam Barron
June 16, 2026
Vice President JD Vance is among numerous Republican officials supporting San Francisco pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker who affixed verses from Genesis 9:12-16 on their Pride Night caps.
The white-lettered text references God’s covenant with Noah following the global flood—a passage that symbolizes the rainbow, a key emblem for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Major League Baseball stated the writing violated its rules and issued a warning to the players about future violations. The league clarified that this routine verbal warning was not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message.
“We respect players’ right to free expression,” MLB added, “but writing any message is prohibited under Major League Baseball’s uniform regulations.”
“Trump won we don’t have to do this anymore,” he wrote.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri sent a letter to MLB expressing grave concern about the warnings. Hawley noted that MLB previously authorized patches reading “Black Lives Matter” and “United for Change,” as well as stenciling “BLM” on pitching mounds.
He accused MLB of designing, promoting, and shoehorning social and political messages into the game broadcast to millions of Americans. Hawley also referenced a prior incident where a Washington Nationals employee was terminated after claiming during a hidden camera investigation that a player was excluded from promotional materials due to his faith.
“The freedom to live out one’s faith does not end at the ballpark gate,” Hawley wrote. “Americans of every creed are entitled to confidence that the institutions of our national pastime will not single out religious expression for punishment while celebrating messages of the league’s own choosing.”
Senator Katie Britt of Alabama criticized MLB, stating: “Let me get this straight, MLB teams can host ‘pride night’ but players wearing Bible verses is an issue?” She added that freedom of religion remains a founding principle of the nation.
