Florida Attorney General Investigates MLB Over Bible Verse Warnings

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to Major League Baseball on June 19, 2026. The action followed reports that the San Francisco Giants warned three pitchers for writing Bible verses on their team-issued Pride Night caps during a June 12 game at Oracle Park.

Pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker wrote "Genesis 9:12-16" on their rainbow-themed caps. A fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, declined to wear the cap at all. The Giants issued warnings to all four players.

Uthmeier said the league appeared to support some ideological messages while targeting religious ones. He called that a potential violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The subpoena demands internal communications, enforcement records dating to 2020, and documentation comparing how the league treated religious expression versus other messaging, including Black Lives Matter patches.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division also referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to examine whether the league failed to accommodate religious expression.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the players would not face fines or discipline. He called the incident a "lapse in communication" by the Giants, saying the team failed to tell players that wearing the themed caps was optional. Manfred said the uniform policy prohibiting unauthorized writing on apparel is a collectively bargained rule meant to keep players from becoming "messengers for political or social issues."

The Florida-based Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins are specifically named in the subpoena, which requires MLB to produce records by July 23, 2026.