The Trump administration's Justice Department has opened a new front in the culture war against white, heterosexual, Christian men by investigating the San Francisco Giants for honoring Pride Month. The Giants' milky, cowardly response betrayed their own city, a large part of their fanbase, and the organization's history.
Background: Hegseth's War on Diversity
On 19 June, the New York Times published an article on the hostility toward minority members of the military at the Department of Defense, attributing the ideological climate to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who is waging a 'war on diversity'. Four days earlier, California governor Gavin Newsom said the Justice Department was investigating him and his wife for alleged financial irregularities, adding to speculation that Trump's administration would weaponize the government to settle scores.
MLB and the Pride Cap Controversy
After MLB criticized three Giants pitchers – Landen Roupp, Ryan Walker, and JT Brubaker – for protesting Pride Night by adding Bible verses to their rainbow-logoed caps, the Justice Department vowed to investigate whether the players' rights to religious expression were violated. The players were not fined or disciplined, and they could have easily not participated. The DoJ got involved for one reason: Trump and his justice department saw an opportunity for another ideological fight, asserting Christian values are being threatened by a baseball cap.
The Giants' History of Leadership
Thirty-two years ago, in 1994, the Giants were the first team in professional sports to recognize the devastation of HIV/AIDS by holding the 'Until There's a Cure' game. They partnered with AIDS activist group The NAMES Project, and reliever Rod Beck and his wife Stacey raised money for pediatric AIDS care. Those Giants were helmed by Dusty Baker, with superstar Barry Bonds. They were a part of the San Francisco bloodline.
Posey's Failure to Lead
Facing a suddenly energized San Francisco media on Tuesday, Buster Posey, president of baseball operations, looked small and distant. He clung stubbornly to the line that he would only answer 'baseball questions'. When that did not end the questioning, he waited, childlike, to be rescued by his public relations department. Posey didn't even know how to say the right things to the city on behalf of the franchise, even if they did not suit his personal values.
Posey is another athlete emboldened by Trump – aggrieved soldiers in a culture war of their own making, standing in opposition to much of his team's fanbase and the decades-long legacy of the Giants as a social institution of the city. His smallness forced a reappraisal of him standing in his catcher's gear during all those Pride Nights and 'Until There's a Cure' ceremonies.
Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.
