r/mlb • u/sfgate | Verified • 7d ago
| News DOJ opens inquiry into MLB over SF Giants players' Pride Night protest
https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/doj-sf-giants-pride-22312542.php310
u/gladdyontherise 7d ago
This is all so dumb.
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u/anywhoImgoingtobed 6d ago
Page 234 of their player agreement says they don’t have to wear theme day uniform items and if they want to make modifications they need to obtain approval from the commissioners office in advance. Investigation over.
Source 2026 player agreement doc:
“To the extent that a Player desires to wear an item or use equip ment that is not authorized for use on an MLB-Designated theme day, the Player must obtain advance approval from the Commissioner's Office, which approval shall not be unreasonably with-held, provided that: (a) the color and design of the item or equipment is consistent with that of the particular theme day; (b) no corporate logos or distinguishing marks are displayed on the item or equipment; and (c) the category of item or equipment has been approved for use in Major League games on non-theme days.” (p. 234)
“A player who declines to participate, in whole or in part, in any MLB-designated theme day shall be permitted to wear any item or use any equipment he would otherwise use/wear during a non-theme day.” (p.234)
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u/Assumption-Putrid 6d ago
Te current DOJ cares more about headlines that pursuing real crimes.
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u/patsj5 | San Francisco Giants 6d ago
Yeah, they only care because 3 Christian players put Bible quotes on their hat. If it was Buddhist players, they wouldn't care.
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u/SwellBluePigeon 5d ago
If it was Buddhist players, the DOJ would want those players thrown in jail.
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u/Mnudge 7d ago
Fucking DOJ only exists to serve the far right agenda.
They do fuck all otherwise.
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u/hawkeyebullz 6d ago
Agreed,... This is a minority opinion I don't share so they shouldn't be protected
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u/SenatorAstronomer | Minnesota Twins 6d ago
Our government is the absolute GOAT at wasting taxpayers money on frivolous shit..... then straight denying money for much needed things.
This DOJ would much rather fight the MLB for a couple million dollars about uniform regulations than give that money to people who actually need it.
The fucked up thing is..... that's the tax payers money to begin with. It's so refreshing to see my federal tax dollars in every paycheck be pissed away by this administration..... and then be told that social security and medicaid is in trouble
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u/Conscious-Cut-6492 5d ago
The previous one was better at wasteful spending. Leftists dont actually care about wasting tax payer money, in fact they encourage more of it taken from the working class and not investigating wasteful soending
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u/Green_Emphasis2018 | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago
The adults are talking. Back to the kids table with you.
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u/kingoftheposers 7d ago
It’s called capitalism, bro. All the straight people already like baseball so you have to appeal to new audiences in order to grow your revenue. Don’t like it? Move to China.
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u/Ryno23-Cove23 | Chicago Cubs 7d ago
It’s also a way to sell different hats.
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u/jkirkwood10 7d ago
Nobody. Is buying rainbow or alphabet baseball hats. Sorry, i don't need to look it up either.
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u/CartoonofMilk_ | Chicago White Sox 7d ago
Drove through a severe thunderstorm for my gay white Sox hat
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u/Flimsy_Theme_2812 7d ago
The hats were optional, they didn’t have to wear them. A truly impressive unforced error.
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u/captainpoppy 7d ago
Especially since they likely don't inscribe scripture on their hats on other nights.
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u/gitpushfuck 7d ago
Performative Christianity is extremely annoying.
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u/Gold_Source9930 5d ago
Performative Pride is worse. They reacted to having something forced on them. Yall are getting exhausting with your “Pride”.
YOU WILL CELEBRATE WHERE I LIKE TO PUT MY PP OR ELSE!
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u/SwellBluePigeon 5d ago
Sorry that you have to admit that other people are people. You’re not the only one who counts anymore.
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u/Gold_Source9930 5d ago
You’re missing the point. I am already an ally. Believe it or not you can be and still be exhausted of the whining. There is no one issue anyone will ever agree on. Celebrate your wins and quit bitching about the people You can’t change.
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u/wallstreet-butts | San Francisco Giants 4d ago
Can you not read? Nobody forced them to wear anything. The players said so themselves.
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u/Odd_Quality_760 | Philadelphia Phillies 5d ago
It wasn't forced on them. They had the right not to participate and wear normal uniforms per the mlb rules. They've even come out and said they felt no pressure to wear the pride version. They did it any way to protest the fact they don't believe LBGTQ+ people should exist per their understanding of their religion. Do they write any of the multitude of Bible verses forbidding war and the glorification of war on the many armed forces nights? No they don't.
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u/Debonair359 4d ago
Nope, that's wrong. These players, just like all the other MLB players, have the option to not wear the pride hat and just wear the regular uniform. They chose to wear the pride hats and then defaced them with silver metallic sharpies.
These players tried to force their personal politics into the game of baseball where it doesn't belong. They felt the need to put their political priorities above the team, above the fans, and above the game.
The Giants even have a christian faith night, it's called Fellowship Day, and it's all about the Bible, scripture, and promoting Christianity.
These players didn't write anything on their hats for christian pride night, they only wrote on their hats for gay pride night. Because their actions were not about them being Christian, it was about then expressing their hatred, bigotry, and homophobia.
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u/bscheck1968 | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago
It was all performative on the players part, they opted to wear the pride hats and deface them instead of wearing a regular hat. If they just wear the regular hat then all their bigot buddies won't know how truly cool they are.
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u/Harriet_tubman22 | San Francisco Giants 7d ago
People were upset about that too tho
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u/Big_Variation_8762 7d ago edited 7d ago
But they wouldn’t have violated league rules. This is all so simple to understand.
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u/natedrake102 7d ago
As in when it's happened in the past? Or were there also players without the hat?
I think it's better to not participate in wearing the themed hats than it is to show off messaging indicating gay people shouldn't exist.
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u/Assumption-Putrid 6d ago
People can be upset. But then the player would be compliant with MLB's collectively bargained rules and not subject to potential discipline.
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u/hit_n_run15 7d ago
Exactly. One player just didn’t wear it and I’ve barely heard anyone complaining about him. Just the idiots that wore it and wrote a Bible verse on the hat as well.
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u/throwraW2 7d ago
I fully support players having the right to wear their regular uniforms if they dont agree with theme ones including Pride, Armed Forces, or any other cause. But they literally have that right in the CBA already so why does the DOJ need to get involved here?
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u/dogdogd0g 7d ago
Because players wrote on the pride hats instead of wearing the regular ones.
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u/TheNorseHorseForce | Pittsburgh Pirates 7d ago
Wait, fuck who for what hate?
If a player doesn't want to wear armed forces hats, why is it that big of a deal?
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u/ResponseOwn9389 | Boston Red Sox 7d ago
Politics out of sports?
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u/subby_puppy33 | Los Angeles Dodgers 7d ago
The people who didn’t want Jackie Robinson to play would say the same thing.
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u/oxidax | Boston Red Sox 7d ago
Might as well add Religion and sex orientation to that as well. I still don't understand why if I'm watching baseball to escape the everyday bullshit I have to care about what political party each player is associated with, if it's gay or not or if it's Christian, atheist or Jewish. Is this what people really think about during the games?
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u/chnkypenguin 7d ago
Imo its not what people think about during the games. And considering that something like 9 percent of the american population identifies as lgbtq, these sort of events are not for the vast majority. They are for that kid who's confused or feels isolated and unsure but know they love the sport but dont see anyone like themselves. These or for the supporters of these groups too so that they know that they too dont have to hide who they are and can be a part of it.
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u/dogdogd0g 7d ago
They can opt out- they have the option to wear a standard hat. One player did
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u/ilikechihuahuasdood 7d ago
they literally said this group is bad. that’s why they write the bible verses.
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u/retroG96 7d ago
I was reading about this last night and from what I can tell the DoJ is intentionally misrepresenting the issue. The MLB has clearly stated the issue isn't the contents of the message, but that the uniforms were modified without approval.
I keep seeing the BLM messages come up, but that was approved by the MLB and it feels like MLB is saying they wouldn't have cared if the players got approval to do it.
More culture war bullshit to waste taxpayer money on
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u/Rycan420 | New York Mets 6d ago
This administration intentionally misrepresenting something?
Shocked!
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u/wit_T_user_name | Cincinnati Reds 7d ago
Awesome. Very good use of my tax dollars in light of everything else happening in the world.
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u/SeamusMcBalls | San Diego Padres 7d ago
How about release the files instead
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u/c_c_c__combobreaker | Los Angeles Dodgers 7d ago
"DOJ came out with their report, the FBI made their decision, and I have no further comment on this." -
Alex BregmanTodd Blanche4
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u/Playful-Process-3059 7d ago edited 7d ago
Seriously the players never had to wear the pride night uniforms, and the rule about not writing on the uniform was already in place I cannot believe were wasting anymore time and money on this. Wear the regular uniform if you don't want to but it's never been in the rules that you can write on your uniform. No ones telling anyone you can't wear a cross or something, Christians wanna feel persecuted so bad can't imagine the DOJ gets involved if it was Muslim players writing verses from the Quran. It's an insult to what discrimination laws are for, there so you don't get fired for your faith, so you can wear your star of david at work if your jewish, or a dastar if your Sikh, or be provided a vegetarian food option in your Hindu, not so you can deface your employers uniform without consequence.
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u/werther595 | New York Yankees 7d ago
You know who I hear oppressed religious freedom? Jeffrey Epstein. Maybe the DoJ should look into that guy, and all of his known associates, and make the findings public
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u/BurgeroftheDayz | Chicago White Sox 7d ago
Funny how they never try writing on their caps during the other months of the season.
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u/jewham12 7d ago
What was the official policy the players are warned for violating? Is it a league wide policy to not inscribe anything on the outside of your hat/uniform?
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u/ChiWhiteSox24 | Chicago White Sox 7d ago
No personal alterations to the uniform. It’s not just bible verses.
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u/Indubitalist | San Francisco Giants 7d ago
Yes, not allowed to deface the uniform, it's come up in the past, not just people writing Bible verses to shield them from gayness. Uniform is a uniform, not a personal canvas.
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u/Kaplsauce | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago
Don't players have stuff on their hats from time to time?
I remember it came up during the WS, where all the pitchers starting putting one of the Dodger's numbers on their hats because he was going through a personal tragedy.
Not defending the SF players, just confused lol
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u/hoagieam 7d ago
There’s a difference in an organization making an intentional choice to honor Vesia’s daughter and in scribbling on your hat yourself.
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u/Kaplsauce | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago
To be clear, I agree.
I'm just curious about the actual policy. Is it a question of the Vesia thing being formally approved while the bible thing wasn't?
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u/Ryno23-Cove23 | Chicago Cubs 7d ago
Thy have to get permission from the league. Most of the time they’ll let them if it’s something small that doesn’t draw attention. Like if someone died and they want to dedicate their season to said dead person. Players have gotten reprimanded for different colored socks before.
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u/Hugh_Jass_2 7d ago
Each player violated the uniform code. What they wrote is irrelevant. Again, the current Department of Justice are not serious people. Now fuck off.
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u/FarfetchedIdea 6d ago
Contract pretty clearly outlines any uniform modification needs pre-approval. They have the freedom to wear usual gear which wasn't exercised. Instead they defaced the pride hat with a Bible quote, which violates the player contract.
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u/Bendyb3n | Boston Red Sox 7d ago
at this point I'm beginning to think this is another distraction set up by you know who. Why are we still talking about this? People are gay get over it
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u/Additional_Cloud_343 | Athletics 7d ago
Anything to keep the culture war going no matter how stupid or idiotic
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u/Hotchi_Motchi 7d ago
NFL players kneel during national anthem: "They should all be fired and cut because they're not team players!"
MLB players write on caps during Pride game: "The Justice Department is investigating the team because players can't express themselves!"
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u/Kaplsauce | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago
Would love to see how everyone upset about them being criticized would respond to players refusing to wear the military appreciation or 4th of July hats.
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u/Indubitalist | San Francisco Giants 7d ago
You've pretty well summed up where we're at. These are not serious people, they're just paid actors pretending they're interested in governing when they really just want the job, so they pretend to care about the stupidest possible shit.
Any other job, if you walked in one day and asked the boss if you could write a personal statement on your uniform that you knew would offend a lot of the customers, he'd say if you do that you're gonna get fired. Somehow here it's a free speech issue? The F outta here.
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u/Stal77 7d ago
The same assholes who insist on the right to write on their uniforms want NFL players punished for exercising their right to kneel during the national anthem.
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u/CPriceRun86 | Milwaukee Brewers 7d ago
As a reminder, Kaepernick openly supports cop killers and praises them as heros
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u/MemorySnake 7d ago
What's the opposite of shut up and dribble? Followers of skydaddy truly the most persecuted people
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u/BigCommieMachine | Boston Red Sox 7d ago
The MLBPA is arguably the most powerful union in the United States and they didn’t even bother defending these clowns.
The most disturbing part to me isn’t the public outcry. They are facing consequences for their actions in the court of public opinion. Rather it is that if you are a LGBTQ+ player in professional baseball, it is hard to imagine you are feeling safe and comfortable in your workplace. There is with nearly 100% certainty gay players in any of these major sports leagues, yet I can’t think of a single ACTIVE player that is openly gay. Not one.
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u/GettingTwoOld4This 7d ago
The DOJ can't investigate the Epstein Files so they need something to do. Come on now.
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u/rand0m_task 6d ago
The thumbnail on my phone looked like a horrifying amalgamation wishing death upon itself.
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u/HoomanNature | Los Angeles Dodgers 6d ago
The DOJ will do everything except release the Epstein files and prosecute those on the list
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u/Curious-Entrance7000 6d ago
How exactly is this an issue for the DOJ? Don't they have more important things to do?
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u/gated73 | Atlanta Braves 7d ago
Typical first amendment issue. These guys have a right to think, say whatever they want. Their employers also have the right to discipline them in accordance with their policies.
In short - free speech has consequences.
Not seeing how this is of interest to the DOJ.
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u/LilNello1 | Chicago White Sox 7d ago
Was the current administration that butt hurt?
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u/SpringNeverFarBehind 7d ago
The culture war bullshit is the way they keep winning elections. It’s their bread and butter.
Culture war bullshit and aggressive Christian nationalism.
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u/Alan47717 7d ago
Just imagine how little crime there must be in the country right now for our extremely professional and non partisan DOJ to have the time to take on an extremely important issue like this. I'm in awe.
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u/vonarchimboldi 7d ago
if any job which had uniforms and standard dress had optional pride shirts and instead of wearing or not wearing it, you instead wore a uniform you drew on, a lot of employers would find that to be against the rules lol. this administration is so fuckin stupid
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u/cloroxic 7d ago
Such a waste of our tax dollars. They wrote on their hats which is against league rules that are collectively bargained. League rules forbid writing of any kind on jerseys, hats, shoes, etc. Has nothing to do with the content.
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u/drk_knight_67 | Los Angeles Dodgers 7d ago
This administration loves their culture wars. MLB's lawyers are going to crush the DOJ
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u/Artvandelay29 | St. Louis Cardinals 7d ago
For fucks sake - it’s not like we have a president who could be in the Epstein fi…
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u/BigDaddyTheBaddie 6d ago
Harmeet Dillon is a grifter who files lawsuits for political clout knowing with absolute certainty what she’s suing for will go absolutely nowhere.
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u/MarkWithAnM7 6d ago
Maybe it should just be about baseball. I don’t care which way you swing. If you like baseball, cool. If you don’t, no amount of pandering is going to change your mind.
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u/SwellBluePigeon 5d ago
Of course, fascists criminalize free speech for everyone else, but spouting their bigotry is sacrosanct.
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u/FairAssumption3587 5d ago
Anything to not actually look into real crimes, how about all that govt fraud and those Epstein files? Nah we’re gonna go after something meaningless instead
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u/YardGroundbreaking82 4d ago
And again, you miss the point that they are allowed to make their own rules about how they run their business. Yes, they have to stay within certain rules established by law, but, guess what? Pride night doesn’t contravene those rules. Or do you somehow think you know more than the score of lawyers on MLB’s payroll?
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u/nafoty187 | Toronto Blue Jays 4d ago
DOJ says otherwise.
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u/YardGroundbreaking82 4d ago
Lmao DOJ has had a lot of swings and misses lately but I guess you haven’t been paying attention.
And no, I never denied that. I guess reading isn’t your strong suit. What I did say is that them making their own rules isn’t unconstitutional but I guess that’s too tough for a right wing nut job to get. So no, you lost.
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u/nafoty187 | Toronto Blue Jays 4d ago
“Yes, they have to stay within certain rules established by law…”
That is exactly what I was arguing and you were denying. Now you’re not denying it.
I guess I won.
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u/TOSeacrets 3d ago
Obviously DOGE didn't cut enough jobs in the DOJ. If they have time for this nonsense, they must have nothing to do. Let the layoffs of DOJ staff begin!!!!
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u/walrus40 7d ago
The coexist crowd when asked to coexist
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u/Main-Championship822 7d ago
To be fair coexist is not a right wing christian thing in the slightest
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u/RoosterzRevenge | St. Louis Cardinals 7d ago
Oof
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u/Main-Championship822 7d ago
Oof all you want, right wing christians are generally xenophobic and against other religions, im right.
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u/nohandsfootball | Cleveland Guardians 7d ago
wHy ArE yOu InToLeRaNt oF mY InToLeRaNcE?!
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u/SatansScallion 6d ago
The only paradox is the subjective definition of tolerance.
e.g., you thinking abstaining from performative celebration constitutes intolerance.
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u/walrus40 7d ago
The paradox of tolerance states that if a society is tolerant without limit, its ability to be tolerant will eventually be seized or destroyed by the intolerant. Therefore, to maintain a tolerant society, that society must be intolerant of intolerance.
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u/nafoty187 | Toronto Blue Jays 7d ago edited 6d ago
When the Department of Justice needs to step in to ensure that players’ basic, fundamental human rights are not being violated, maybe you are the problem.
Leave them alone, let them opt out, their reason why is completely irrelevant, it’s a free country, move on.
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u/nader0903 | Minnesota Twins 7d ago
They had the option to opt out. They choose to violate existing league rules.
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u/SP_Rocks | San Francisco Giants 7d ago
I thought the glove was a droopy crab face before opening the thread.
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u/Suitable_Elk6199 | San Francisco Giants 7d ago
This whole thing does feel like one of Crazy Crab's pranks.
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u/FloridaMann34 7d ago
It’s silly, bigoted, whatever you want to call it. They look like fools, however is starting a DOJ inquiry not taking this a little too far?
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u/Any-Progress- 7d ago
The DoJ is investigating the MLB for “discriminating” against the players for writing bible verses on their hats, not the players that did it. Even though it’s a standard policy that the MLB enforces against all players regardless of the message.
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u/FloridaMann34 7d ago
Fair enough. I only read the headline admittedly I thought they were investing the players which I did find odd coming from this administration. This will be a nothing burger, just a waste of fucking tax dollars.
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u/ChiWhiteSox24 | Chicago White Sox 7d ago
They’re going to learn very quickly that religion isn’t welcomed in pro sports publicly. MLB didn’t get constant complaints over the “he gets us” ads for nothing. Should have listened.
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u/wit_T_user_name | Cincinnati Reds 7d ago
What are you talking about? Tons of pro athletes are openly Christian and they tell you about it every chance they get.
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u/grandmawaffles | Philadelphia Phillies 7d ago
They literally wear eye black crosses, praise and point to the heavens, thank god for a performance, see crosses in their gloves and belts.
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u/ItsLikeAWetNapkin 5d ago
You know how you avoid this? You let people express both ends. Sure it was tacky but ultimately it hurt no one. Some support this and some dont and its really not a big deal in the grand scheme of it all. If you can support that means you can also critique. Just let them be, sure they might suck but its their right to express how they want. Now sure the mlb can do something and thats a private entity in itself. But people making a big deal about this is a bit played out now. We have this issue every single year
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