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Ex-Vikings captain calls on MLB players to double-down on faith amid Pride Night cap controversy
By Jackson Thompson
Published June 17, 2026
Former Minnesota Vikings captain Jack Brewer urged San Francisco Giants pitchers not to back down after MLB warned them not to write Bible verses on their Pride Night caps.
"My message to all you San Francisco Giants players is we got your back," Brewer told Fox News Digital. "Keep on standing, keep on speaking out. As they fine you, we’ll buy more jerseys."
Asked what Giants players should do next, Brewer’s answer was blunt: "Do it more."
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San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello lifts starting pitcher Landen Roupp during the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)
Brewer also called on Christian players across Major League Baseball to respond collectively.
"This is the time to go harder, not to back down," he said. "Stand up for Christianity. Come together, lock arms, create a movement."
The controversy began on Friday after Giants pitchers, including Landen Roupp, J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker, wrote Bible references on rainbow-themed Pride Night caps.
The pitchers wrote "Gen 9:12-16." Gen 9:12-16 is a passage from the Bible. The passage states that God established the rainbow as a perpetual token of the covenant made with Noah and every living creature. It goes on to state that when God sees the rainbow, He will remember His "everlasting covenant" to preserve all life on earth from another global flood.
MLB put out a warning to players against writing the verses on their caps this week.
"The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations," said Pat Courtney, MLB’s chief communications officer, in a statement.
Brewer was "disgusted" by the MLB's stance.
"Man, I think it’s disgusting," Brewer said.
"You're forcing a Christian to support June as Pride Month? I mean there's no bigger violation to Christianity than Pride Month. And so to force someone's faith like that, and to put them in a compromised situation, where they gotta go out there and market to millions of people something that is, goes directly against their religion. To force them to do that, and to threaten them, to threaten them, to fine them for making a stand that is scriptural, it should be criminal, right? Players should be able to come together with a class action lawsuit."
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Jack Brewer, former safety for the Minnesota Vikings, speaks during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 27, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg)
He argued that professional athletes are held to strict rules over uniforms, colors and logos, but that leagues make exceptions when they support Pride messaging.
"The second that a player stands up for their faith … they’re just double-minded," he said.
"These teams spend millions of dollars to trademark these logos, to trademark these colors," Brewer added. "All of a sudden, during Pride Month, they’re switching their logos to rainbow, but yet a player can’t stand out against that?"
Brewer warned that the same issue is already reaching the NFL, pointing to teams that have used Pride-themed logos while players are often fined for minor uniform violations.
"It's already started to make its way to the NFL. Unfortunately, uh, you saw I think all but like eight teams came out and changed their logos to be pride flags. This is the same league that when I played, if my sock fell down and I didn’t pull it up, I got fined," Brewer said.
"But all of a sudden you can put rainbows on the same trademarks that you fine players for years and years and years for doing anything against. It’s hypocrisy."
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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on June 12, 2026. (John Hefti/Imagn Images)
For Brewer, the Giants controversy is bigger than one cap or one Bible verse. He framed it as a test of whether athletes can publicly hold to their faith when league-approved social messaging conflicts with it.
"Pick up your cross and follow me," Brewer said, quoting Scripture. "This is your time to take a stand."
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/ex-vikings-captain-calls-mlb-players-double-faith-amid-pride-night-cap-controversy-wan