SF Giants' Roupp explains why he wrote Bible verse on Pride Night cap
SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants wore special black caps in honor of Pride Night on Friday at Oracle Park, the “SF” logo featuring every color of the Progress Pride flag. Nearly every Giant who saw the field wore the cap, but three Giants inscribed a message on their hats, while one player avoided the Pride cap entirely.
Starter Landen Roupp, who allowed four runs over 4-2/3 innings in the Giants’ 5-1 loss, had “Genesis 9:12-16” inscribed on his cap. Reliever JT Brubaker had “Genesis 9:13-15” largely written on his cap by the logo during his two innings out of the bullpen. Fellow reliever Ryan Walker, recalled before Friday’s game, also had “Genesis 9:12-16” on the side of his cap as he threw a scoreless inning.
Left-handed reliever Sam Hentges, who threw a scoreless inning, opted out of the Pride cap entirely, wearing a standard Giants cap with a black base, black brim and orange font.
The biblical passage, from the story of Noah’s ark, states that the rainbow is a symbol of a covenant between God and all living creatures.
“It’s just about God’s covenant and a promise that he makes to us that his faithfulness and his mercy,” Roupp said. “It’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that. Thankfully, we live in a country where we have the freedom to believe what we want and express what we want.”
Roupp could not recall previously inscribing that message on his cap during a game. Asked why it was important to write that message tonight, he replied, “The rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant to us, and us as believers stand firm in that.”
“It’s not anything - there’s no hate at all,” he said. “It’s just what I stand for and what I stand (on). I believe in God.”
Roupp was then asked for his response to members of the LGBTQ+ community who might take offense at his messaging.
"First of all, as a believer, I would push them to read the Bible," Roupp said. "God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don't think I'd be here right now if it wasn't for him. Like I said, there's no hate in it at all. We live in a country where you're welcome to believe what you want. It's freedom of speech. That's really all I have to say about that.”
Brubaker and Walker provided similar explanations as to why they had the messaging on their caps.
“At the end of the day, God calls us to love everybody, right?” Walker said. “I have no hatred towards anything that was going on. I’m a believer in God. I feel like I’m going to stand firm on that ground. None of it was for hatred towards anybody. If anything, I would love for them to look up the verse and get into the Bible.”
Brubaker said, “It’s just my belief. I follow God. I answer to God. He’s the one who gives me the strength, gives me the ability to go out and be able to do what I can do. I know God calls us to love everybody. To me, by spreading the word a little bit. I love everybody. Just spread love, respect. … My biggest thing is respect, so just at the end of the day, it’s my belief and I stand by it.”
Hentges, the only player who didn’t wear the cap, said he felt like the Pride caps were something he was “being forced to support when I don’t morally support it.”
“But, there wasn’t hatred behind it,” Hentges said. “I think that’s something that’s misinterpreted. I don’t hate the LGBTQ community, but it’s just something that I believed and talked with teammates and family. They supported it, so we did it.”
Hentges didn’t believe that declining to wear the Pride cap could create any divisiveness within the clubhouse. The lefty said he asked his teammates, including team leaders, for their thoughts, noting “no one had an issue with it.”
“We asked and all had talked about it, asked different people what their thoughts were and if they were all right with us doing it,” Hentges said. “Everybody seemed to be okay.”
Manager Tony Vitello replied “not really” when asked if he was involved in any pregame discussions about the writing on the caps.
“Just kind of a general knowledge of the individuals that have the freedom to do what they think is best,” Vitello said. “I do think it’s been apparent from Day 1 - actually, even some of the exhibition games - it’s pretty impressive how the Giants, as an organization, try to embrace the entire community.”
Earlier this week, Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen did not wear the team’s Pride-themed cap during Pride Night. Last season, Clayton Kershaw also wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his cap when the Dodgers hosted the Giants for their Pride Night. In 2024, former Giant shortstop Nick Ahmed had “Genesis 9:16” on his cap when the Giants hosted Pride Day.
The Giants have a long history of promoting the LGBTQ+ community. In 1994, they were the first professional sports team to host an HIV/AIDS awareness game. In 2015, the team signed an amicus brief in support of same-sex marriage. In 2021, the Giants became the first team to incorporate Pride colors into their on-field uniform for their Pride game.
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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 12:01 AM.