Major League Baseball outraged many of its fans on June 12 by warning that players who wrote Bible verses on their caps could face discipline for daring to express their beliefs. Of course, the League pushed their Pride Night hats, and although they didn’t require players to wear them, they made it clear, as they have in the past, that they’re in on the rainbow but not down with expressions of faith.
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The League maintains that all writing on caps is prohibited, and it’s not a case of religious discrimination.
Nonetheless, Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was not amused and fired off an angry letter to the League accusing them of engaging in what “appears to be a pattern of discrimination within MLB against baseball players who profess their Christian faith.”
He’s not the only Missourian concerned by the seeming double standard. MO Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway is putting MLB on notice that she will investigate unless they respond to her questions:
By forcing players to promote political and religious beliefs that they disagree with on pain of discipline, @MLB is betraying a core tenet of American law and civic culture.
I will open an investigation if MLB fails to respond to my letter by June 25. pic.twitter.com/AZqO7UhUWn
— Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway (@AGCHanaway) June 17, 2026
The Show‑Me state will not stand for religious discrimination, she wrote:
In a letter posted to the social platform X on Wednesday morning addressed to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Hanaway wrote that “it has come to my attention that MLB is considering disciplining members of the San Francisco Giants who expressed their dissent from wearing ‘Pride Night’ hats—by either writing Bible verses on those hats or wearing the regular Giants cap.”
“In response to these actions, MLB said, ‘The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations,'” she added. “Missouri will not tolerate any threat to punish a player for exercising his sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. Doing so is both illegal and un-American.”
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Josh Hawley on Warpath After Baseball Players Targeted, and MLB Won’t Like What May Be Coming Next
Three Giants players wore the Pride caps Friday in a game against the Chicago Cubs, but wrote Genesis 9:12–16 on them. Hanaway said that any attempt to discipline them will be met with an investigation, and the League needs to answer her pronto:
“By June 25, 2026, please respond to this letter confirming that MLB will not discipline any players who have chosen to refrain from wearing ‘Pride Month’ paraphernalia or included Bible verses on Pride Month hats,” Hanaway wrote in her Wednesday letter.
“If you fail to respond to this letter and provide the requested confirmation, I will open an investigation to determine whether MLB is violating the religious liberty rights of players and employees in Missouri,” she added.
Vice President JD Vance had perhaps the most succinct take, as our Sister Toldjah noted:
Trump won we don’t have to do this anymore https://t.co/Dsl5DH2obf
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 16, 2026
This is a stupid self-own by MLB. They’ve injected heavy sexual politics into the game — remember the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence? Yet they’re threatening players who quietly brought their own message. They would have been wise to have just let this one slide, and not look like intolerant, censoring leftists. If they’re going to push woke narratives, then they should expect that not everyone is down with that, and that some people are actually there for the baseball, not “The Cause.”
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This is an ugly mess that they’ve created all by themselves. Whatever blowback you’re receiving, MLB, it’s more than deserved.
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