The controversy around the Pride Night protest by three San Francisco Giants pitchers continues to grow.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., entered the fray Tuesday, demanding answers from Major League Baseball after it issued warnings to Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker about writing on their uniforms. The players added a Bible verse on their specialty caps for the night.

In a letter addressed to MLB commissioner Robert Manfred, the Republican senator also accused the league of “a pattern of discrimination ... against baseball players who profess their Christian faith.”

“I write with grave concern over your reported decision to issue a formal warning to three Major League Baseball (MLB) players for publicly expressing their Christian faith,” Hawley says in his letter. “MLB has said this is a content-neutral policy and that MLB ‘respect(s) players’ right to free expression.’ But this is dubious, given that MLB is openly promoting a political viewpoint and possibly compelling adherence to that viewpoint.”

The Missouri senator referenced the league’s “sweeping, judicially manufactured exemption from the federal antitrust laws” as justification for his inquiries.

A number of other Republican politicians also called out MLB for its actions, including North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, Florida Atty. Gen. James Uthmeier and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

“Trump won we don’t have to do this anymore,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on social media.

In Friday’s Pride Night game against the Chicago Cubs, Roupp, the Giants’ starting pitcher, wore a hat with “Gen 9:12-16” written alongside the rainbow “SF” logo. Relief pitchers Brubaker and Walker also added similar references to the Old Testament passage about rainbows being a “covenant between God and every living creature” on their caps. (Fellow Giants pitcher Sam Hentges chose to wear a cap with the team’s standard logo instead of the Pride Night version.)

“That’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that,” Roupp told reporters after the game. “I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want ... and express what we want.

“The verse says ... the rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant to us, and us as believers to stand firm in that,” he added after confirming he never had previously inscribed it on his cap before. “There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for and what I stand in. I believe in God, and that’s me.”

Rainbows have been associated with LGBTQ+ pride since the rainbow flag was introduced by activists and artists in San Francisco in the 1970s. The verse Roupp mentions often is cited by Christian conservatives in their effort to “reclaim” the rainbow’s symbolism. (Former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw added the same Bible verse to his Pride Night cap last season.)

Following the Pride Night actions of Roupp and his fellow Giants pitchers, the team’s fans, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies expressed their hurt, anger and disappointment in the players and the organization. The Giants have a history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community and causes.

The MLB issued the players who added inscriptions to their caps a warning Monday for violating the league’s uniform policy.

“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” MLB clarified in a widely reported follow-up statement issued Tuesday.

“We respect players’ right to free expression. However, writing of any kind, with any message, is prohibited per Major League Baseball’s Uniform Regulations which provides in part that, ‘(a) Player may not write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment…’. 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.”

The Giants have not addressed the fallout beyond their statement following the game Friday.

“The San Francisco Giants are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community. Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued,” the statement provided to numerous outlets reads. “We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations. We understand that the choices by individual players has caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that. Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all. We remain grateful to our fans, partners, employees, players and coaches who help make Pride Night a meaningful celebration.”

The team was among the first in professional sports to host an HIV/AIDS awareness game in the 1990s and the first MLB team to incorporate the Pride rainbow in its on-field uniforms for its Pride game in 2021.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener has continued to call out both the Giants and Republican politicians regarding the Pride Night protest and the aftermath.

“MAGA leaders like JD Vance and Josh Hawley are now glomming on and declaring an anti-LGBTQ culture war, in an attempt to bully MLB from enforcing its rules,” Wiener wrote in an lengthy post on social media, calling them out for their “Bigotry against LGBTQ people.”

“This isn’t an issue of religious freedom. People have a right to whatever religious beliefs they want — even if those beliefs dehumanize other people — but they don’t have a right to hijack their employer to promote those hateful beliefs at a job-related event.”

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