Major League Baseball said personal writing on team-issued Pride Night caps violated league rules after San Francisco Giants players added Bible verses to caps during a home game against the Chicago Cubs, ESPN reported Tuesday.
ESPN reported that MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney said the writing violated league rules and that players were warned about future violations. The story moved the issue from a team-level Pride Night response into a league uniform-policy matter.
MLB Draws A Line On Team Caps
The ESPN report identified Giants right-hander Landen Roupp as one of the players involved. Roupp started the game and pitched 4 2/3 innings while wearing a Bible verse reference on the front of his Pride Night cap.
Roupp told reporters after the game that his decision was about his faith and not about hate, according to ESPN. The article also reported that JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, both right-handed relievers, wore Bible verses on their caps when they appeared in the same game.
Reliever Sam Hentges made a different choice, ESPN reported. Hentges took the mound in San Francisco's traditional black cap rather than the Pride Night version and later told reporters he felt he was being asked to support something he did not morally support.
ESPN's scoreboard API verified the Cubs-Giants game at Oracle Park as a completed MLB game on the June 13 schedule, with first pitch listed at 2026-06-14T02:05Z. The policy issue, rather than the final score, is the news hook.
Giants Reaffirm Pride Night Position
San Francisco manager Tony Vitello was asked about the pitchers' decisions after the game. ESPN reported that Vitello framed the matter around individual freedom while also noting the Giants' effort to embrace the wider community.
The Giants then issued a statement reaffirming support for Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community, according to ESPN. The club said baseball should be welcoming and respectful, while also acknowledging that individual player choices had caused pain and anger for many people in that community.
ESPN reported that San Francisco first added a Pride component to its uniforms in 2021. That history matters because the latest episode is not only about one night of apparel; it is about how the club and league manage team-issued uniform activations when individual players object or alter the item.
MLB's warning gives the story its practical edge. The league did not simply leave the matter as a clubhouse disagreement or a postgame explanation. It treated personal writing on the caps as a rules issue and warned players that future violations would not be ignored.