Minor League Baseball Team Cancels Pride Night Game after Players Reject Rainbow Jerseys

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A minor league baseball team canceled its Pride Night game this week after several players refused to wear the rainbow-themed jerseys in what may be the first instance of a game being canceled or forfeited in U.S. professional sports history over such a dispute.

The forfeiture came as the York Revolution were scheduled to host the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in an Atlantic League game on Pride Night in York, Pa., and less than a week after three pitchers for the San Francisco Giants sparked a controversy in that liberal bastion by writing Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.

The Revolution went ahead with the Pride Night activities, minus the game.

“This decision was not reached lightly. Unfortunately, several of our players have refused to wear the scheduled Pride Night jersey, and the club decided that hosting the event is more important than forcing players to wear jerseys they are not comfortable with and playing the game,” the team said in a message on its Facebook page late Wednesday evening.

“As a result, and out of respect for the Pride Community and the York community as a whole, the York Revolution has decided that the game on Thursday, June 18, will be forfeited and that Pride Night will continue on as the feature element of the evening at WellSpan Park.”

The Revolution closed comments on the Facebook announcement, but that didn't stop individuals from making their voices heard on a Friday Facebook post previewing the weekend's games. Most commenters expressed support for the players who refused to wear the Pride Night uniforms.

“Thank God your players have morals and intestinal fortitude!!” one person wrote.

“No one should ever be asked to wear anything political at work ever,” another wrote.

The action by the Revolution players came less than a week after three San Francisco Giants pitchers drew national attention by writing Genesis 9:12-16 on their rainbow-themed Pride Night caps. The players said the verse pointed to the biblical account of God’s covenant with humanity.

Photo Credit: ©Jakob Rosen/Unsplash

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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