DOJ's Harmeet Dhillon Throws a Curveball That Sends MLB's Bad Week Spiraling

As RedState previously reported, Major League Baseball (MLB) landed itself in hot water on Monday after issuing a "warning" to three San Francisco Giants pitchers who refused to bend the knee to "Pride Night," writing Bible verses on their rainbow-themed hats during the team's Friday game against the Chicago Cubs.

The warning stated that "the writing on the cap violates our rules, and consistent with normal practice, we have warned the players about future violations." In a follow-up statement, they claimed it had nothing to do with the Christian message. "To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message." Mmmhmm.

In response, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) fired off a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, demanding answers and strongly implying that a public Senate Judiciary Committee hearing might be in order due in part to the fact that "baseball enjoys a sweeping, judicially manufactured exemption from the federal antitrust laws—a privilege the Senate Judiciary Committee has examined with bipartisan skepticism in recent years."

In a follow-up to this story, Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, has now entered the chat, informing Manfred and the MLB that they now face a civil rights probe, with the matter being referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):

"The three players expressed their opposition to MLB's pro-Pride orthodoxy," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in the letter. "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,” Dhillon added in the letter. “The Trump administration is committed to combatting religious discrimination."

"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," Dhillon also wrote.

Swing and a miss! Major League Baseball encouraged players to wear “Black Lives Matter” on their uniforms but reportedly threatened Christians who write Bible verses on their hats. @USEEOC will investigate whether this amounts to religious discrimination. pic.twitter.com/pSNxhOfr7E
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) June 18, 2026

Employers who treat their employees differently because of their religious beliefs risk enforcement action by @CivilRights or @USEEOC—the MLB is no exception! Discrimination & harassment based on religion are unlawful, & will not be tolerated! pic.twitter.com/gEAwWNl2pt
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) June 18, 2026

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas also had thoughts about MLB's actions that she shared on X:

Protecting religious liberty is as American as apple pie, BBQ—and baseball. Employers, this summer, don’t strike out when dealing with your religious employees’ rights at work. Religious employees’ rights don’t stop when they put on their uniform, clock in for their shift, or otherwise start their workday. Employers MUST accommodate religious expression at work unless it poses a “substantial” undue hardship. Employees, if you’ve been denied a religious accommodation, penalized or threatened with a penalty for your religious expression at work, or experienced differing treatment, harassment, or retaliation for your faith, contact @USEEOC ASAP to protect your rights.

I think it's safe to say that MLB's week has gone from bad to worse, bless their hearts. We'll keep you posted on developments.

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