Fans threw a lot of vitriol at three San Francisco Giants players who wrote biblical references on their caps last Friday, leading to turmoil with the league.
Major League Baseball issued a warning to the players while the Giants franchise offered an apology, seemingly pointing to a huge blowback against the team over the protests.
‘Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued.’
After pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker wrote differing forms of “Genesis 9:12-16” on their LGBT-themed Pride hats last Friday against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park, fans took to social media to vent their gripes.
The fan page on Reddit was particularly ruthless, where one fan even compared the use of Bible verses to “writing racist s**t on Jackie Robinson night.”
“What a bunch of f**king morons,” the user added.
Another Redditor called the players “the 4 Bigot pitchers,” adding reliever Sam Hentges in the mix, who simply chose to wear a regular Giants cap on the night in question, not the Pride one.
More commenters seemed frustrated that the “locker room leaders” did not express concern over the incident.
However, the outrage seemingly did not affect attendance at the park when compared to the home games that followed Pride Night on Friday, which had an official attendance of 38,115. On Saturday, attendance dipped to 35,142 before jumping to 40,093 on Sunday afternoon, less than a thousand short of a sellout.
RELATED: MLB sends subtle threat to SF Giants pitchers over Pride Night biblical protest: ‘We have warned the players’
Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
While many factors affect ticket sales — starting pitchers, day of the week, time of day, etc. — one thing is certain: Fans still showed up for the games following the widely discussed protest.
The Giants won’t return home until June 23 against the Athletics, when the dust surrounding the MLB warning and team apology may have settled.
In a statement to the Athletic, the league warned the three pitchers, saying, “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations.”
The MLB has remained steadfast in its restrictions on players altering hats, having warned players in the past for writing phrases like “Dad,” “Happy Mother’s Day,” “I Love Mom,” or names of family members, the MLB said, per ABC News.
RELATED: Minor league baseball team cancels Pride Night ballgame — but still holds Pride Night to punish players
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
According to the San Francisco Standard, the Giants organization issued a statement reinforcing that “baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued.”
While the team said it respected the decisions made by its players, the Giants noted, “We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that.”
The protest does not change the Giants’ commitment to “inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all,” the team added.
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