DOJ's Dhillion says agency looking into MLB allegedly threatening player over Bible verse on caps

The league told three San Francisco Giants pitchers that they violated the league's uniform policy by writing a biblical verse heading on their caps on Pride Night and issued a warning to each of them over the matter.

Published: June 19, 2026 12:31pm

Updated: June 19, 2026 12:31pm

Justice Department civil rights attorney Harmet Dhillion says the agency will look into reports that Major League Baseball threatened Christians who write Bible verses on their game caps and investigate whether such action "amounts to religious discrimination."

Dhillion is the assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Rights Division.

"Swing and a miss! Major League Baseball encouraged players to wear 'Black Lives Matter' on their uniforms but reportedly threatened Christians who write Bible verses on their game caps," she posted Thursday on X.

The league told three San Francisco Giants pitchers earlier this week that they violated its uniform policy by writing a biblical verse heading on their caps on Pride Night and issued a warning to each of them over the matter.

Pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker all wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on their caps during the June 12 game, a verse that describes God's establishment of the rainbow and covenant with humanity. 

The game was part of MLB Pride Night festivities, hosted by individual league franchises, to celebrate and welcome the LGBTQIA+ community. The event is held annually during Pride Month in June.

MLB said in a statement Monday that the writing "violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations."

The league later had to clarify that the warning was not disciplinary and was unrelated to the religious nature of the message. "

"To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message," MLB said. "We respect players' right to free expression."

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