Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Responds to Pride Night With Bible Verse
From the Royals to the Yankees, Pride Events Pressure Christian Players
Every Major League Baseball team except the Texas Rangers is sponsoring a pride night in June. That included teams like the Kansas City Royals, who held theirs on June 12, and the St. Louis Cardinals, who celebrated it June 6. The events pose a challenge to Christian players, who want to remain strong in their convictions without being confrontational.
Clayton Kershaw, who pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers, went viral on social media after wearing a hat with a Bible verse next to the team’s rainbow-colored team logo in Friday night’s game. Screenshots of the broadcast shared on social media showed that the message “Gen 9:12-16” referenced Genesis 9:12-16. The passage referencing God’s covenant with Noah points to the rainbow as a sign of that promise. This moment comes as the Dodgers continue to be at the center of national discussion about the intersection of faith and inclusivity.
The Dodgers did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Kershaw also protested the organization’s decision in 2023 to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence before the team’s Pride Night game that season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner said his opposition was based solely on the group’s mockery of Christianity, a stance reflected in other sports controversies involving religious expression.
“I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” he said. “It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don’t think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else’s religion. So, that’s something that I definitely don’t agree with.”
Kershaw said at the time that his issue was specifically with the group and that he had no intentions to boycott Pride Night. “This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or pride or anything like that,” Kershaw told the “Los Angeles Times.” “This is simply a group that was making fun of a religion that I don’t agree with.” The discussion around faith and sports has continued to draw attention from fans and commentators alike.
Not long after facing backlash in 2023, the Dodgers announced they would hold a Christian Faith and Family Day for the first time since 2019. In response, Kershaw said Jesus Christ is his hope in a world that “can get crazy sometimes.” He described the event as the best way to demonstrate what he and some of his other teammates stand for.
–Alan Goforth
