Major League Baseball Warns Christians Players Not to Put Bible Verses on Caps
San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp is drawing praise from Christians across the country after he boldly displayed a Bible verse on his ballcap during the team’s Pride Night game at Oracle Park.
Roupp, who started Friday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs, wore the Giants’ rainbow-themed Pride cap — but wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” next to the logo, according to NBC Sports Bay Area and The Christian Post.
Several other Giants pitchers also made faith-based statements during the game. Reliever JT Brubaker wrote a similar Genesis reference on his cap, Ryan Walker reportedly had writing on the side of his cap, and Sam Hentges declined to wear the Pride cap altogether.
Major League Baseball issued a stern warning to the Christian ball players.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told Outsports.
A NOTE FROM TODD: I want to invite you to partner with Starnes Media Group as we raise up next generation journalists to provide fair and balanced coverage of Christian and Conservative news. It’s imperative that we have truth tellers in the culture! Click here to become a monthly partner or to make a one-time gift.
Roupp said his decision was not about hate, but about taking a public stand for God’s Word.
“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that, you know, his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp told reporters, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “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.”
The verse Roupp referenced reads in the King James Version:
“And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Asked why he chose Pride Night to make that statement, Roupp said, “Kind of what the verse says, you know, the rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant to us, and us as believers to stand firm in that. … There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for and what I stand in. I believe in God, and that’s me.”
When asked what he would say to someone in the LGBT community who was offended, Roupp did not back down.
“First of all, as a believer, I would push them to read the Bible,” he said. “I think God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don’t think I would be here right now if it wasn’t for him.”
Critics erupted.
McCovey Chronicles blasted the pitchers in a column titled “Bad and bigoted,” accusing the players of “defacing” the Pride caps. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ann Killion wrote that the pitchers “alienated their fans and city,” calling the display “a decidedly un-Christian stance of exclusion and judgment.” One Giants fan told the SF Standard, “Now my team is tarnished by a decision of some selfish players.”
The Giants issued a statement saying the organization is “proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community,” adding, “We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations.” The team said the choices “caused pain and anger” and apologized to those offended.
But Roupp’s supporters say the young pitcher showed uncommon courage in a culture that often demands silence from Christian athletes.
Don’t let Social Media Censor Conservatives. Click here to get my breaking news alerts delivered to you inbox.