On Thursday, the Department of Justice asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate the MLB over allegations that the league discriminated against three San Francisco Giants players who inscribed Bible verses on their hats during the team’s Pride Night last week. After the players wore the hats, the MLB issued them a warning not to repeat the actions. 

In a letter to Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said that she would be referring the probe over to the EEOC for “further investigation.”

“According to media reports, Major League Baseball (‘MLB’) has warned and/or is considering disciplining three players on the San Francisco Giants who refused to participate in ‘Pride Night.’ The three players expressed their opposition to MLB’s pro-Pride orthodoxy by inscribing Bible verses on their rainbow-colored hats. The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League’s vehicle for pro-Pride messages. Federal law is clear: employers must modify their uniform requirements to reasonably accommodate their employees’ exercise of religion,” the letter from Dhillon read.

“MLB has asserted that its warning to the Giants players ‘had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message’ and that it merely is enforcing a policy that prohibits writing on uniforms.’ Yet, MLB has allowed players to wear uniform patches reading ‘Black Lives Matter.’ This double standard—under which players may not inscribe Bible verses on hats for one game only but may wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ patches for one game only—calls MLB’s true motives into question and raises serious concerns about MLB’s compliance with Title VII,” she added.

Dhillon then said the matter would be going over to the EEOC for “further investigation.”

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucaus said in response, “Due to confidentiality requirements under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that bind @USEEOC, EEOC cannot confirm or deny any potential action, or the existence of any charge or investigation, absent a court filing or an agreed-upon public resolution. Rest assured, however, that EEOC is committed to protecting the religious liberty of all workers.”

Title VII requires that employers provide reasonable accommodation for employees’ religious beliefs.

The situation arose after three MLB pitchers on the Giants all wrote references to “Genesis 9:12-16” on their baseball caps next to the rainbow pride night logo, a reference to God’s covenant never to flood the earth again after the Biblical passages about the great flood, which is symbolized by the rainbow. Giants starter Landen Roupp, as well as relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, displayed the verses.

The MLB wrote them a warning in response, “The writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations.”