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Three-time Team USA Olympic softball gold medalist Leah O’Brien-Amico says she believes she would have written a Bible verse on a Pride Night cap if she had been made to wear one in a game.
“I believe I would,” Amico told Fox News Digital when asked if she’d write a Bible verse on the cap.
“I believe that in some ways I feel like it would be similar to saying everybody should have to wear a cross on their jersey, but I would never expect that with my teammates that don’t believe the same thing,” she added of the players having to wear the Pride-themed caps.
The comments from Amico, a three-time Olympic gold medalist with USA Softball and a three-time NCAA national champion at Arizona, came after Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their Pride Night caps during San Francisco’s June 12 game at Oracle Park.
Roupp wrote “Gen 9:12-16” on his cap, with part of the Bible reference overlapping the rainbow-colored “SF” logo used for the team’s Pride Night uniform. The passage refers to the rainbow as a sign of God’s covenant. MLB later issued a warning, saying the issue was not the content of the message but that writing of any kind on uniforms violates league rules.
Amico said she viewed the players’ decision as a statement of religious conviction rather than hostility.
“Of course, as a fellow Christian, I thought it was a bold statement for them to be able to say, ‘Hey, I have a belief that is different than the reason that I’m being asked to wear this symbol,’” Amico said. “I support that freedom to be able to have religious freedom in a way, to share their values, at a time where athletes are being asked to then partake in something that maybe goes against their value system.”
The Giants’ Pride Night caps were part of a tradition the organization helped pioneer. In 2021, the Giants announced they would become the first MLB team to incorporate Pride colors into on-field uniforms, including a Pride patch and a custom cap with Pride colors in the “SF” logo.
But this year’s event became a flashpoint. MLB said its warning to the Giants players was a “routine verbal warning” and “not disciplinary,” adding that the league has issued similar warnings for uniform messages such as “Dad” and “Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom.”
The Giants later said they remained “proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community,” while also acknowledging that individual players’ choices had caused “pain and anger” among many LGBTQ+ fans.
Amico said she would encourage the Giants players not to back down from their faith.
“I’m sure they are probably in a tough situation, wanting to be part of the team and what they’re asked to do,” Amico said. “But for them, I think I just want to encourage them. At the end of the day, they answer to God above all else, above an employer, above somebody that pays them, and above a coach or a teammate.”
“Our value system is based on God’s word,” she added. “It’s encouraging to see people being bold, to say, ‘We just want to share that this is our view and our value system.’”
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS PITCHER WRITES BIBLE VERSE ON HAT IN DEFIANCE OF PRIDE NIGHT
Amico said her objection is not to individual athletes or fans expressing support for Pride, but to the expectation that every player on a team wear the same symbol.
“I would never want them to be put in that position, to have to wear something that symbolizes maybe something that they are not passionate about,” Amico said of teammates who do not share her Christian beliefs. “At the end of the day, I think I would literally just feel like, why is this in sports?”
Amico said she has seen a different model in international softball, where some athletes wear rainbow-colored armbands without the entire team being required to do the same.
“There are players that actually wear an armband that has rainbow colors on it,” Amico said. “It’s not something the entire team wears. I support that, right? Players being able to go out and represent who they are and what they believe and what they feel. But I just don’t think it’s necessarily right to force an entire team.”
The controversy has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and some San Francisco leaders, while also prompting pushback from conservative politicians who argued that MLB’s response raised questions about religious freedom. Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley were among those criticizing MLB after the league’s warning.
Amico said Christians in sports can face a difficult balance during Pride Month: wanting to be good teammates while also feeling pressure to publicly endorse something that conflicts with their faith.
“I think it could put them just in a tough situation if they care about the people who maybe agree, maybe have that lifestyle,” Amico said. “They probably love them. They should love them if they’re a Christian. I had many teammates who lived in that lifestyle, and I love them. I love them as people. They were my teammates.”
Still, she said, a team is made up of individuals, and sports organizations should leave room for players to differ.
“I always felt strongly that we are a bunch of individuals on a team,” Amico said. “Maybe how do we find ways to have individual values shared within being part of the team?”
For Amico, the answer is choice: fans and individual players can participate in Pride celebrations, while other athletes should be allowed to wear the standard uniform without being treated as if they are betraying the team.
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“I think a core point of all of this is maybe allow the fans to take part in something like this, but on the field and for the players, allowing them to have the ability to say, ‘Yes, I prefer to wear my hat with the rainbow branding on it,’ and then other players to say, ‘I’m going to wear my everyday hat,’” Amico said.
“I think there should just be that freedom in that situation,” she added. “Because I think if you have that freedom and it’s okay to be a little different, then I think that would go a long way.”
