Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Major League Baseball on Friday after it threatened to punish Christian players for writing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps last week.
The sports organization claims the actions of the three San Francisco Giants pitchers violated its uniform rules, but Uthmeier argues that the league has been “selectively enforcing” its own rules.
“Players who promote secular messages get a pass, while players who promote religious messages get a reprimand,” he wrote in a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “If this pattern or practice of religious discrimination is true, then it could amount to a de facto League policy, which would violate Florida law. My office will not tolerate religious discrimination against any players in Florida.”
His office pointed to the league’s past permission of social justice messaging in 2020 when Black Lives Matter saw nationwide support following the death of George Floyd. That year, MLB launched a social justice initiative, called United for Change, that sought to combat systemic racism. At the time, certain teams wore BLM patches and stenciled the BLM logo onto the pitcher’s mounds.
But when three pitchers etched “Gen 9:12-16” on their pride hats during a game last week, MLB warned them about future violations. The Bible verse refers to when God made the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with Noah and all living creatures in the Jewish and Christian traditions.
“A pattern or practice of selectively enforcing its rules to benefit favored secular beliefs over disfavored religious beliefs would not only potentially violate Florida civil rights law, but it would also violate the League’s own policies,” the Republican attorney general said.
Uthmeier cited the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act as the laws that MLB may have violated in this instance. He also pointed to the league’s code of conduct that prohibits religious discrimination.
Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker are the three San Francisco Giants members in question.
“MLB therefore appears to applaud—even change its rules for—the ideological beliefs it prefers, but targets players who express religious views the League doesn’t like,” he added. “The MLB’s apparent history of selective nonenforcement suggests that it applied its uniform rule uniquely against Roupp and the other pitchers simply because they expressed a religious belief.”
Uthmeier demanded that the MLB hand over extensive documents touching on uniform rules and Pride Night policies, among other areas of concern, by July 23.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway also penned a letter to the MLB commissioner this week, asking the league to “not discipline any players who have chosen to refrain from wearing ‘Pride Month’ paraphernalia or included Bible verses on their Pride Month hats.” If MLB fails to respond to her request by Thursday, Hanaway will open an investigation into its alleged religious discrimination.
Florida and Missouri each have two MLB teams, giving them authority over the matter.
EEOC TO PROBE MLB OVER ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION IN PRIDE NIGHT HAT CONTROVERSY: DHILLON
In addition to the two red states, the federal government is also aware of the league’s treatment of the Christian athletes.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon referred the case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday for a possible investigation. In response to the request, EEOC Chairwoman Andrea Lucas said the independent agency “cannot confirm or deny any potential action, or the existence of any charge or investigation, absent a court filing or an agreed-upon public resolution.” However, Lucas appeared open to investigating MLB.