A’s host Pride Night tonight as Giants’ hat controversy hits national stage
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Glenn Burke Pride Night is Wednesday at Sutter Health Park, with festivities beforehand.
- Three Giants pitchers wrote Bible verses and one refused the Pride hat, sparking outcry.
- MLB warned three pitchers for writing on their caps, not as a disciplinary action.
While the Athletics are preparing to host their Pride Night at Sutter Health Park on Wednesday, another California baseball team’s handling of its recent Pride-themed game has made national headlines, with political figures all the way up to the vice president weighing in.
On Friday, the San Francisco Giants played the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in the team’s annual Pride Night game.
However, three Giants pitchers wrote Bible verses on their Pride-themed hats, and a fourth opted not to wear the hat at all, a display that prompted ongoing outcry from fans and multiple scathing sports columns. Those who wrote on their hats also received an official warning from Major League Baseball, which said that doing so violates the league’s uniform rules.
Nearly a week later, the incident has remained a hotbed of debate with prominent politicians across the country posting on social media in support of or opposition to the pitchers’ actions.
“Trump won we don’t have to do this anymore,” Vice President JD Vance wrote in a post on X, replying to an article about the MLB’s official warning to the three involved pitchers.
In response, state Sen. Scott Weiner, whose district includes San Francisco and who is gay, refuted Vance’s assertion, calling the actions of the Giants pitchers “bigotry.”
“Yes we do since in San Francisco, unlike in the White House, we treat LGBTQ people as full human beings & we think bigotry is bad,” Weiner wrote on X. “Perhaps go back into your cave for a minute to chill out.”
Weiner later issued a full statement on X, saying the Giants should condemn what he called homophobic defacement of the hats.
The press office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also replied to Vance’s post, saying that the vice president should be working on other things rather than commenting on Pride hats.
A’s among MLB teams to host Pride Night
Pride Month was first recognized nationally by former President Bill Clinton in 1999, who deemed it Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Now, June is typically seen as a month of acceptance and celebration for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Among major pro sports, MLB has been among the leaders in hosting Pride Nights, potentially due to its season overlapping with Pride Month.
There has never been a publicly out gay man on an active MLB roster, though a few who came out after their playing careers have said they were out to teammates.
That list includes former A’s outfielder Glenn Burke, who played in Oakland from 1978 to 1979, before retiring. In 1982, Burke came out as gay, becoming the first former MLB player to do so.
As more MLB teams celebrate Pride, Burke is often honored at those ceremonies. The A’s have named their Pride-themed game “Glenn Burke Pride Night” for years, typically honoring Burke throughout the game alongside other Pride-themed celebrations. On Pride Night last season in West Sacramento, Burke’s nephew Andrew Hunt threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
This year’s Glenn Burke Pride Night will take place Wednesday at Sutter Health Park, with Pride festivities likely beginning before 6:40 p.m. first pitch.
During Pride-themed games, teams typically sport a rainbow of some kind in their uniforms, like the rainbow SF on the Giants themed hats on Friday, and have some kind of celebration before, during or after the game, including merchandise, a ceremony or spectacles like fireworks. The A’s posted to Instagram that afternoon that the Sacramento LGBT Community Center is Wednesday’s “nonprofit partner of the game.”
This year, 29 of the 30 MLB teams will host or have already hosted Pride-themed games during the month of June. The Texas Rangers, based in Arlington, will not; they will instead host a “Faith & Family Night” this Thursday.
What happened at Giants’ Pride?
The three pitchers that received warning from the MLB were Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, who referenced Bible verses on their caps. Sam Hentges didn’t wear the Pride-themed hat at all, opting for the standard black and orange Giants hat.
At least two of the hats referenced Genesis 9:12-16, which involves God saying the rainbow is his eternal connection to Earth.
In a statement announcing the warnings, MLB said the action was not disciplinary and did not have to do with the messages presented on the hats.
“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB said in the statement. “We have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as ‘Dad,’ ‘Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom’ and names of family members.”
Both Hentges and Roupp said there was no hate in their decisions to wear the hats, but stood by them in separate interviews, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“It’s just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don’t morally support it,” Hentges said, according to the Chronicle. “There wasn’t hatred behind it.”
Among those to criticize the pitchers’ decision was commentator Mike Krukow, who does color analysis for the team on NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I think that you have the right as a player to believe and say whatever you want,” Krukow said, according the Chronicle. “But you have to take a broader look at the city you’re playing in. What makes San Francisco so great is the acceptance of others — ethnicities, opinions, cultures — and that extends to the gay community.
“I would just hope they would understand the demographic of San Francisco and respect people for who they are. What you do to your uniform, that has weight to it. You can offend people. And why would you do that?”
The Giants pitchers are not the first players to inscribe Bible verses on their hats during Pride Night. Former Los Angeles Dodgers ace and likely future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw wrote the same Genesis verse on his hat in 2025.
Giants manager Tony Vitello said there were no discussions between players about the Pride-themed gear before the game, “just general knowledge of the individuals have the freedom to do what they think is best,” according to the Chronicle.
After the game, the Giants released a statement saying that they were proud to support the LGBTQIA+ community, while also saying they respected that individuals could make choices about whether to participate in team activities.
“We understand the choice by individual players has caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that,” the Giants said in the statement. “Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 11:35 AM.
