Who Owns the Rainbow? The Giants Bible Verse Hat Controversy
If there is one thing you know about me, it’s that I love the San Francisco Giants.
My Plaque at McCovey cove :)
With the recent events from the Giants Game on Friday, June 12th involving players Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker, and Ryan Walker writing verses from the book of Genesis on their hats-and Sam Hentges opting out of a rainbow hat entirely- I can’t help but sit with the irony of writing about this in the city of San Francisco.
Growing up, my family called me 9er. As in 49er. I was meant to be here before I knew it. My grandparents lived and worked in San Bruno, while some of my ancestors settled in to the Bay while many found solace in Chicago or New York.
When I graduated from Cal and moved to San Francisco - I wanted to be right next to Oracle Park. Back then, it was grass and construction - now people call the neighborhood Mission Rock. I remember my first Giants game when I watched favorites at the time like Yastrzemski and Buster Posey I finally felt like I was home.
I have learned about greats before I was deep into Giants lore like The Freak and the Say Hey Kid - San Francisco is my home, and the Giants literally play in my backyard.
Running the Giants Race back in 2024 while Marathon Training
Funny enough, I started this season really invested — I really love watching more accessible sports like the MiLB and have noticed so many trades back and forth from Sacramento to The Majors (hey Bryce!). The trades made me follow the Giants through their tumultuous beginning of the season as a young team.
We aren’t who we were 17 years ago, but that’s okay! Seeing how it all plays out is part of the fun.
Now - Something else you may not know about me is that I was raised Lutheran in Dallas, Texas.
I know plenty of Queer people who also are religious in many denominations of organized religion. One thing I would like to first mention is the erasure of religion in Queer spaces and a friendly reminder that Queer people were raised religiously, practice religion, and may prefer religious ceremonies for life events.
Whether one would like to admit it or not, being Queer does not bar someone from practicing a religion whether they are considered valid in your denomination or not.
There are religious Queer people of all denominations.
Many Christians like myself can agree that God’s Covenant is for everyone. Utilizing Genesis 9:12-16 on the one night dedicated to Queer fans does not feel right and contradicts the passage entirely. The Giants were including the entire community like they do for Christians, for Teachers, Cultural appreciation days, and everyone else.
We can discuss modern interpretation of Genesis all we want, but let’s remember what Genesis is remembered for in the world of anti-LGBTQ+ Christianity — the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the volatile waves of LGBTQ+ policies in the U.S. from life saving to borderline erasure - one mustn’t need to change a garment if they stand with the community.
We can all agree that a rainbow is a phenomenon that usually happens after a rainstorm, making a beautiful ray of light featuring the entire ROYGBV visual spectrum.
For as long as there has been rain — a natural event on a planet with an atmosphere — there have always been rainbows.
The rainbow predates the Bible. The rainbow does not belong to anyone, just like the rain, the sun, or the moon (well maybe Gru).
Why in recent years have some Christian groups needed to take ownership of the rainbow? If the rainbow is supposed to represent God’s love, then why doesn’t God’s love translate to “Love is Love”?
Genesis 9:12-16 has been used historically to “reclaim” the rainbow. Now, I personally have never heard, in my life of living in Texas before moving out to California — someone originally taking ownership of said rainbow in the first place.
comic by David Hayward
No, the MLB does not have any rules against religious verses or phrases on uniforms. To be honest with you, I’m one of those people who doesn’t really care about the Bible verses on an in-n-out wrapper. However, the MLB does have a policy against extracurricular writing on team uniforms.
Uniform Consistency (Rule 3.03a): All players must wear uniforms identical in color, trim, and style.
Major League Baseball Rulebook (2019)
Now — whether it was intentional or not, it’s difficult to interpret why this specific Bible verse from the Rainbow covenant was used on Pride Night.
A quick search online will reveal the past use of this specific verse from Genesis 9:12-16 by influential pastors like Allen Jackson, and the Jesus Saves Signs company selling yard signs to “restore the rainbow” (I thought the whole movement was not using the rainbow for business). There are 66 books in the Bible which are filled to the brim with verses that affirm your faith without hurting others. However, upon a bit of research, most of the journalism surrounding reclaiming the rainbow began during 2020 which I personally find to be interesting.
Before that, here is an article from the Chicago Tribune in 2017 covering a similar issue.
Nobody owns the rainbow.
The rainbow predates the events of the bible and serves purpose in numerous civilizations, both prehistorically and historically. I honestly think it’s really beautiful that the rainbow is mentioned in the first book of Genesis as God’s love, as a bow sent to protect us all.
Is there a problem with thinking that a rainbow extends to the LGBTQ+ community as well?
Players in leagues of all levels write stuff like verses on cleats, clothing tags, and hands all the time, but these players used a Bible verse that is only becoming more popular to reserve exclusivity for a rainbow. Now we are to the point where players place verses (that have only recently become weaponized) somewhere where it would be seen on national television, the Jumbotron, and press photos in plain sight.
I have not seen these players write any verses on their uniforms before this.
I’m 100% fine with the Giants or any professional sports team supporting any group of people as long as it’s positive. However, let’s remember that people like you and I are sent home from work if we refuse to wear our specified work uniform or write on it in a way that looks unprofessional as all hell.
No player should be punished for expressing their faith, however I do not think sharing a rainbow with the LGBTQ+ community takes away a single thing from these men.
With that said, if a baseball player on my own team is free to make a public statement on his garment utilizing religious text of my faith — I am free to respond.
The Giants actually hosted Until There’s a Cure Day to help raise awareness for HIV/AIDS research for over 25 years. In 2021, the Giants were the first MLB team to where Pride Colors. There has been no hiding that the Giants have long supported Queer people and communities that include Queer people.
Now, my thoughts all amount to this one question to people who want to discuss this online but are upset at an article like mine.
If being Queer does not bother you so much like you say, why won’t you share the rainbow that God gave all of us?
Remember that Fellowship night annually at the Oracle Park? Would you want someone on the team to start drawing rainbows on their hat at that event?
If God’s Covenant is for everyone, then why isn’t the rainbow?
Signed, a Queer Christian
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