The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate MLB in response to the league’s handling of the San Francisco Giants’ Pride Night controversy. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred regarding the matter.
Dhillon announced on Wednesday that the DOJ has referred the matter to the EEOC. The inquiry centers on whether MLB’s actions conflict with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs.
“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 hats,” Dhillion wrote on X, accompanied by a copy of the letter to Manfred. “(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) will investigate whether this amounts to religious discrimination.”
The issue stems from the Giants’ home series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park on June 12. Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker displayed Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.
MLB subsequently issued a warning to the players for violating the league’s strict uniform policy. The league, however, insisted that the warning had nothing to do with the content of the messages.
Giants Pitchers React to the Backlash
San Francisco Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker addressed the backlash after the game against the Chicago Cubs on June 12.
“That’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that, and I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want … and express what we want,” Roupp said, per NBC Sports.
Walker and Brubaker admitted they didn’t know their gesture would ignite a nationwide debate.
“I expected some of those (negative) comments, but did I expect it to get this big? Not necessarily,” Walker told Evan Beck of California Post. “At the end of the day, we stood for what we believe in. All the love to those people. I enjoy playing for the city. I love playing for the Giants and at Oracle.”
Brubaker, meanwhile, rejected accusations that the players used the event to mock the LGBTQ+ community.
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