{"id":2532,"date":"2026-06-19T15:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2532"},"modified":"2026-06-19T15:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:38:16","slug":"trump-administration-investigating-mlb-over-sf-giants-pride-hat-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2532","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration investigating MLB over SF Giants’ Pride hat warning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Giants\u2019 Pride Night controversy has sparked an investigation by President Donald Trump\u2019s Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

Read more Police investigating whether shooting game that injured California cop was \u2018chronic behavior\u2019, chief says<\/a><\/p>\n

In a letter addressed to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released Thursday afternoon, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon argued that the league\u2019s warning to players not to write on their hats violated the players\u2019 religious freedom under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<\/p>\n

Dhillon, a former California Republican Party boardmember, cited Title VII of the act, which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of \u201crace, color, religion, sex, or national origin.\u201d She also pointed to a U.S. Code which requires employers to reasonably accommodate to an employee\u2019s \u2026\u00a0 religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last Friday night, Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker each wrote Bible verses on the team\u2019s Pride Night caps, which featured all the colors of the Pride Progress flag on the \u201cSF\u201d logo. Sam Hentges wore the team\u2019s standard black cap with an orange logo.<\/p>\n

Monday, Major League Baseball issued a statement that \u201cwriting on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The league followed up a day later, emphasizing that the Giants players weren\u2019t warned because of what they wrote, but because of the league\u2019s uniform regulations, which \u201cprovides in part that, \u2018(a) player may not write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment \u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In the week since Pride Night, the actions of the players and the league\u2019s response have sparked widespread debate and appear to be splitting the fan base.<\/p>\n

Read more California and US West threatened by wildfires over coming days<\/a><\/p>\n

The team has come under fire for remaining silent after issuing an apology Friday night. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, among others, has condemned the players\u2019 actions. Longtime Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow became embroiled in a national controversy this week when he took to the airwaves on Wednesday morning and spoke at length about the issue, expressing his support for the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

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Others have supported the players, who all have insisted there was \u201cno hate\u201d behind their actions. Vice President J.D. Vance earlier in the week wrote, \u201cTrump won, we don\u2019t have to do this anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., earlier this week wrote his own letter to Manfred calling the league\u2019s response a \u201cpattern of discrimination\u201d against Christian players.<\/p>\n

The Giants have a history of celebrating Pride dating back to 1994, when they became the first professional sports team to host an HIV\/AIDS awareness game. In 2021, the Giants became the first MLB team to incorporate Pride colors into their on-field apparel for their Pride game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration is committed to combatting religious discrimination. The Department of Justice will use all available means to hold employers accountable for violating the religious rights of their employees,\u201d Dhillon wrote before noting she had referred the issue to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate.<\/p>\n

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This is not the first time President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has taken aim at an institution over an issue involving LGBTQ+ rights in the Bay Area. Last year, the Department of Education opened an investigation into San Jose State allowing trans athlete Blaire Fleming to play on the Spartans volleyball team. Fleming was eligible under NCAA rules at the time, the school said, but the administration ruled in January that San Jose State had violated Title IX, and in March the school sued the department to block it from cutting funding.<\/p>\n

Read more Google\u2019s secret warrant fight over DOJ pipe bomb probe revealed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon argued that the league’s warning to players not to write on their hats violated the players’ religious freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Administration investigating MLB over SF Giants’ Pride hat warning - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2532\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump Administration investigating MLB over SF Giants’ Pride hat warning - 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