when your favorite baseball team disappoints you from a human standpoint
on the San Francisco Giants' Pride Night debacle, why i care so much as a straight woman, and how the org should move forward
August 10, 2026 update: Thank you to Outsports for featuring this letter!
I am sorry that I am not going to be able to continue my career story this week as things just got away from me and it’s going to take more time and willpower to write the rest of it, but I will get to it as soon as I can when things calm down on my end.
So this week, I’m repurposing something and writing about an unfortunately fresh topic du jour. But I need to preface with what I identify as along with my core beliefs.
about me (woke version) + why i think every misconception about LGBTQ+ people is wrong
Although I think there’s always nuance to be discussed when it comes to policy and how to solve problems in the world, I do not believe in policies that harm and attempt to exterminate marginalized communities. I do not believe faith should be used as a weapon to exclude people that are not part of the status quo.
I am a pro-choice, pro-ALL immigrants, pro-Black, pro-Brown, pro-LGBTQ+, anti-imperialist, feminist daughter of Filipino immigrants.
I’m not going to touch on every part of my identity, but being pro-LGBTQ+ is what’s important to know for today’s post. My Junior Prom date was my guy best friend at the time and he came out shortly after we went together. I had always kind of knew, but when he was finally able to live his truth, I felt so proud of him and to be in his company. Since then, I’ve been able to befriend many other vibrant individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. It always made me happy to see people live freely and that I lived in an area where that was possible and unapologetically affirmed, although seeing the legal battles against same-sex marriage in our state was a struggle.
I even was a rainbow flag bearer at the SF Pride Parade in 2019, marching with the Salesforce contingent (before Marc Benioff sold out to the extreme right). They just took volunteers on the spot and I just happened to get that particular flag. I did question it in the sense that I never identified as LGBTQ+ myself, and maybe someone in that community should have walked with that flag. But we were all there as a community together and as long as we deeply cared about everyone we were marching for, that was the purpose of it all.
It still irks me when people think identifying as LGBTQ+ is a choice or a sexual preference, and I hate to center myself/straight women but it seems to be easiest for others to at least try to understand: We’d date other women if we could because it’s easier than going through the pile of men.
In all seriousness, in thinking about the discrimination, misunderstanding, and pure hatred the community still is facing especially in today’s world, I don’t think anyone actively chooses to be LGBTQ+ — they were born that way and they are beautiful!
As someone who worked in the public school system, I am also extremely bothered by rhetoric from people who think public school teachers groom children just because there might be LGBTQ+ friendly curriculum in their classrooms or are doing things like drag queen story hour. I think there is SO many things to call out:
Most of the kids in the classroom will probably still be straight.
They are probably already teased by adults for having a girlfriend / boyfriend.
It’s not “grooming” to let kids know that other people might be different from them and that those people also deserve respect.
It’s usually someone other than a random drag queen that is more likely to harm a child, like someone’s creepy-ass uncle.
If someone is concerned about “parental rights” and wants the teacher to “out” a child, then maybe school is the only safe space for the child.
Anyway, that could be a whole essay of its own!
anyway, what does this all have to do with the Giants???
Well! As you know, my fandom has been dwindling especially this year, but this past Friday night might have been the nail in the coffin (not really since I still have some game tickets, including the ones I built my upcoming vacation around…but may have to adjust my MLB stadium side quest after that and just watch non-Giants teams).
After a festive pre-game Pride Night celebration at Oracle Park featuring local drag queen legends and LGBTQ+ couples renewing their wedding vows, starting pitcher Landen Roupp took the mound in the Giants Pride cap with Bible verse “Gen 9:12-16” scribbled on it, which has often been cited by conservatives to reclaim the rainbow’s symbolism. (Former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw did the same last year.)
The audacity!!
But he wasn’t the only one to pull such shenanigans: Relief pitchers J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker had similar verses on their caps and another relief pitcher, Sam Hentges, opted to wear the regular orange and black cap instead of the Pride cap.
When asked why, the pitchers used “morals” as the reason for not wanting to wear a Pride cap as is for the one day of the year the Giants actively recognize the LGBTQ+ community.
There’s no hate at all. It’s just what I stand for and what I stand (on). I believe in God, and yeah, that’s me. - Roupp
There was no intentional hate. We have these hats and we’re supposed to wear them if we support it. If we don’t, then you don’t have to wear them. We have that choice. Just like they have their choices, too. And understand that as humans we all have choices that we can choose to do and do whatever we want. But it’s not something I support. At the end of the day, I want the message heard that there’s no hatred. - Hentges
* From “Giants’ Sam Hentges on decision to not wear Pride Night hat: ‘I don’t morally support it’” - San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2026
Oooof. I would think God loves all his people. And again, sexuality is not a choice.
Now the Giants have gotten into an unnecessary national PR crisis that even the current Vice President and other elected officials from around the country have chimed in on.
Some other pieces worth reading on this:
Giants pitchers didn’t just deface Pride uniforms. They alienated their fans and city
Mike Krukow delivers impassioned monologue defending SF Giants’ Pride Night
LGBTQ+ sports site Outsports has some amazing coverage and perspectives on this debacle
the email that sums it all up
On Threads, a couple of folks decided to run an email campaign to Roscoe Mapps, the Chief Diversity Officer of the San Francisco Giants. Customer service folks don’t handle these inquiries but Mr. Mapps was said to be a good lead who can truly hear concerns and hopefully impact change.
I am sharing my email to better articulate my thoughts, feelings, and possible ideas for change.
Dear Mr. Mapps,
I hope you are well and healthy.
I am a 37-year-old Bay Area native who has been going to San Francisco Giants games since 2004. I’ve also had the privilege of working with the Giants’ now-defunct @CafeSFG social media team during the 2016 and 2017 seasons along with the 2018 Fanfest. I was an early adopter of The 415 membership program (and previously tried the Ballpark Pass before that!) but decided earlier this year not to renew my membership. It makes me sad to say that the organization is giving me more and more reasons to make me stand by that decision.
The city of San Francisco has always been a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, and has a rich history that has impacted the overall community. Although I am not part of the community myself, I consider myself an ally. I’ve taken pride in the city being a model for LGBTQ+ celebrations and seeing that reflected in my favorite baseball team. Pride Day/Night has always been one of my favorite events during the season (although I probably last went in 2024). I also love that the Giants were the first team in MLB to bring HIV/AIDS awareness to the baseball world with Until There’s a Cure Day in 1994.
Friday night was one of the lowest points I felt as a Giants fan, and it didn’t even have to do with the team’s already-horrid performance. Learning that Landen Roupp, J.T. Brubaker, and Ryan Walker defaced their Pride caps with Bible verses and that Sam Hentges chose not to wear the cap at all was extremely disheartening. I understand that these particular players may have a background that leans more conservative. I also understand that there were a couple of incidents in the past where players also chose not to wear the designated Pride gear, or write Bible verses inside their caps.
In today’s political climate, I believe that we need Pride more than ever, especially in a city that’s supposed to lead in these efforts. What makes this year’s incident different is that multiple people chose to express their lack of moral support in very outward ways. Those four men could have expressed their faith all the other days of the season in addition to doing so on Pride Night. Instead, they chose to do it only on a specific day to purposely diminish a marginalized community and bring the attention to themselves. To me, it is akin to one White person talking about how proud they are to be White during Black History Month, or someone talking about the importance of prostate cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These actions were divisive and I am disappointed that Tony Vitello and other people in the organization have let this slide.
This isn’t even the only issue I have with the organization from a DEIB standpoint. Since the Giants last made the playoffs in 2021, it seems that other issues have shown that the organization is no longer welcoming to minority communities, as shown in part-owner Charles Johnson’s continuing donations to extremist candidates, the firing of Renel Brooks-Moon, the hiring of Glen Kuiper, the recent sponsorship by anti-LGBTQ+ corporation Chik-fil-A, and the recent purchase of a minority ownership stake by Joshua Kushner.* The Giants can hire as many respectable figures like Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy as they want, but it will never cover up all the stink I’ve sniffed for a while now.
I don’t know what is realistically possible, but a few solutions I can think of:
More leadership / sensitivity training for the four players, Tony Vitello, and basically everyone in the org (but especially those five)
Work with MLB to fine Roupp, Brubaker, and Walker for defacing a team uniform during a game
Partner with local LGBTQ+ organizations, donate to them, and have players and key org members meet with them for connection, networking, exchange of ideas, and education
Some potential organizations I’d like to see the Giants partner with in the future:
I’m sure your job is very challenging, and I thank you for all you and your colleagues have done in the past. I hope you continue to listen to the voices of the community and strive for progress. This organization should be moving one step forward, not five steps back at a time. I’m happy to collaborate.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider.
Sincerely,
Karen Datangel
*Notes for non-Giants/baseball fans on the claims made:
SF Giants owner Charles Johnson pours cash into Republicans like never before
Giant loss: Team parting ways with long-time announcer Renel Brooks-Moon (I realize now that I said “fired” in my email when the story was that the parting was amicable…but have heard rumblings of tensions from the higher-ups here and there)
MLB Announcer Returns to Air Nearly 3 Years After Firing for Using Racial Slur
Jared Kushner’s brother invests in the Giants? What this means for the franchise
Here’s hoping the Giants remember who the fuck they are, the city they play in and play for, and come back to truly affirm and value their diverse fanbase when we need more love than ever in this dark day and age.
And if you identify as LGBTQ+, please know that you are seen, valued, and loved, and this is a safe space for you. <3