Pennsylvania-based baseball team York Revolution chose to forfeit its Pride Night game after several players refused to wear rainbow-themed jerseys.
The professional team was due to play the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on 18 June as part of its 11th annual Pride Night.
The club had arranged for players to wear special uniforms featuring rainbows on the sleeves, but some players refused.
While the game itself did not go ahead, the Pride Night event continued as “a free and fun celebration of recognition and inclusion”.
Fans with tickets were told they could use them for a future game.
“This decision was not reached lightly,” the team said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, several of our players have refused to wear the scheduled Pride Night jersey and the club decided that hosting the event is more important than forcing players to wear jerseys they are not comfortable with and playing the game.”
The club made clear that it was disappointed by the players’ actions.
“To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York,” the statement continued.
“As a small token of our regret for the last-minute change of plans and support for our LGBTQIA+ representing partners we are making a $10,000 donation to the Rainbow Rose Center to support and further their work in making sure the York community is as inclusive as we strive to make WellSpan Park in York, Pennsylvania.”
In an Instagram post, the team said it was “deeply troubled and profoundly disappointed by the decisions” of the players who refused to wear the Pride jersey.
The event was still set to include community activities, music and batting practice on the field.
Pride in baseball
The York Revolution decision follows another Pride-related controversy in Major League Baseball.
On 12 June, several San Francisco Giants players wrote Bible verses on their caps during the team’s Pride Night.
Pitchers Landen Roupp, J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker each wrote a reference to Genesis 9:12–16 on their caps, overlapping the rainbow Giants logo worn for the occasion.
The passage refers to God creating the rainbow as the sign of a covenant.
Another player, Sam Hentges, refused to wear a rainbow cap at all.
Following the incident, several MAGA-aligned figures, including Rob Schneider and Kevin Sorbo, offered to pay any fines issued to the players if penalties were handed down.
The incidents have renewed debate about Pride events in professional sport, and whether inclusion efforts can succeed when some athletes refuse even symbolic gestures of support for LGBTQIA+ communities.
