{"id":2616382,"date":"2026-06-19T16:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-investigating-mlb-over-alleged-religious-discrimination\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T16:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:32:02","slug":"florida-investigating-mlb-over-alleged-religious-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-investigating-mlb-over-alleged-religious-discrimination\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida investigating MLB over alleged religious discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-investigating-mlb-over-alleged-religious-discrimination%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616382&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a subpoena to Major League Baseball (MLB) following the league&#8217;s threat to punish Christian players for writing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.The MLB claims the players violated uniform rules, but Uthmeier alleges selective enforcement and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-university-alleges-biden-administration-launched-bad-faith-investigations\/\" title=\"Christian university claims Biden administration initiated &#039;unfair&#039; investigations.\">potential religious discrimination<\/a>, arguing that MLB has supported secular messages like Black Lives Matter while penalizing religious expressions. He cited Florida laws and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >policies prohibiting religious discrimination<\/a> and warned that such selective enforcement could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-kicks-off-special-legislative-session-heres-what-theyre-trying-to-get-passed\/\" title=\"Texas Kicks Off Special Legislative Session \u2013 Here\u2019s What They\u2019re Trying To Get Passed\">violate state laws<\/a> and league policies. Uthmeier specifically pointed to three San Francisco Giants pitchers-Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker-who wrote \u201cGen 9:12-16\u201d on their hats. The dispute highlights broader concerns over religious expression in sports, with Missouri Attorney general Catherine Hanaway also requesting MLB refrain from disciplining players for religious messages. Additionally, the EEOC has been notified, and an inquiry into MLB&#8217;s treatment of Christian athletes is possible. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-wont-help-peter-navarro-shield-emails-from-nara-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court won\u2019t help Peter Navarro shield emails from NARA - Washington Examiner\">case underscores ongoing debates<\/a> over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/there-is-nothing-equal-about-the-equality-act\/\" title=\"There Is Nothing \u2018Equal\u2019 About The \u2018Equality Act\u2019\">religious rights<\/a> and institutional policies in sports.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"159\">Florida<\/a> Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mlb\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"754\">Major League Baseball<\/a> on Friday after it threatened to punish Christian players for writing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bible\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"5324\">Bible<\/a> verses on their Pride Night caps last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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 \u201cselectively enforcing\u201d its own rules.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616858\/florida-subpoena-mlb-selectively-enforce-rule-christian\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida subpoenas MLB for \u2018selectively enforcing\u2019 uniform rules to reprimand Christian pitchers<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616376\/ninth-circuit-ministries-hiring-like-minded-employees\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ninth Circuit to weigh if religious ministries can limit hiring to like-minded employees<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616556\/former-larry-krasner-supervisor-suspended-3-years-misleading-judge-death-penalty-case\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Former Larry Krasner supervisor suspended for three years after misleading judge in death penalty case<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPlayers who promote secular messages get a pass, while players who promote religious messages get a reprimand,\u201d he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridalegal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/mlb-letter-signed65.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridalegal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/mlb-letter-signed65.pdf\">wrote in a letter<\/a> to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His office pointed to the league\u2019s past permission of social justice messaging in 2020 when <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/black-lives-matter\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"906\">Black Lives Matter<\/a> saw nationwide support following the death of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-floyd\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"757\">George Floyd<\/a>. 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\u2019s mounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when three pitchers etched \u201cGen 9:12-16\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp waits for the sign during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Friday, June 12, 2026, in San Francisco, Calif. (AP Photo\/Scott Marshall)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/06\/localimages\/AP26164240275241.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp waits for the sign during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs with \u201cGen 9:12-16\u201d written on his hat Friday, June 12, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo\/Scott Marshall)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA 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\u2019s own policies,\u201d the Republican attorney general said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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\u2019s code of conduct that prohibits religious discrimination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker are the three San Francisco Giants members in question.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMLB therefore appears to applaud\u2014even change its rules for\u2014the ideological beliefs it prefers, but targets players who express religious views the League doesn\u2019t like,\u201d he added. \u201cThe MLB\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Uthmeier <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridalegal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/mlb-subpoena-6.19.26.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridalegal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/mlb-subpoena-6.19.26.pdf\">demanded<\/a> that the MLB hand over extensive documents touching on uniform rules and Pride Night policies, among other areas of concern, by July 23.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/missouri\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1099\">Missouri<\/a> Attorney General Catherine Hanaway also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGCHanaway\/status\/2067262773134795072\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AGCHanaway\/status\/2067262773134795072\">penned a letter<\/a> to the MLB commissioner this week, asking the league to \u201cnot discipline any players who have chosen to refrain from wearing \u2018Pride Month\u2019 paraphernalia or included Bible verses on their Pride Month hats.\u201d If MLB fails to respond to her request by Thursday, Hanaway will open an investigation into its alleged religious discrimination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Florida and Missouri each have two MLB teams, giving them authority over the matter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616024\/eeoc-mlb-religious-discrimination-pride-night-hats\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4616024\/eeoc-mlb-religious-discrimination-pride-night-hats\/\">EEOC TO PROBE MLB OVER ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION IN PRIDE NIGHT HAT CONTROVERSY: DHILLON<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the two red states, the federal government is also aware of the league\u2019s treatment of the Christian athletes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/harmeet-dhillon\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"10095\">Harmeet Dhillon<\/a> referred the case to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/eeoc\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3945\">Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/a> on Thursday for a possible investigation. In response to the request, EEOC Chairwoman Andrea Lucas said the independent agency \u201ccannot confirm or deny any potential action, or the existence of any charge or investigation, absent a court filing or an agreed-upon public resolution.\u201d However, Lucas appeared open to investigating MLB.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida AG subpoenas MLB over Christian players&#8217; Pride Night Bible verses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2616383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26164240275241.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5113,12138,52735],"class_list":["post-2616382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-florida","tag-mlb","tag-religious-discrimination"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26164240275241.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616382"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616386,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616382\/revisions\/2616386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}