Perhaps taking their cue from the San Francisco Giants players who protested ever so quietly over being forced to act as LGBTQ boosters, players on the independent Minor League Baseball team York Revolution refused to wear uniforms that featured a rainbow design on the team’s jersey. The head-exploding reaction of the Revolution’s ownership was this:
“It is with great disappointment and that the York Revolution have issued important changes to our 11th Annual Pride Night on Thursday, June 18th. Most significantly, the scheduled game between York and Southern Maryland will not be played and Pride will still be hosted as a free admission event. Everyone’s tickets for the game on Thursday will be treated as a rainout that can be redeemed for any future game. This decision was not reached lightly. 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.
As a result, and out of respect for the Pride Community and the York community as a whole, the York Revolution has decided that the game on Thursday, June 18 will be forfeited and that Pride Night will continue on as the feature element of the evening at WellSpan Park. We feel that this is the best way to stay consistent with our long-standing partnerships with the Rainbow Rose Center, JLS Automation and the long list of allies that have always been key partners of the York Revolution’s success in York, Pennsylvania.
To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York. 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.
Please join us for a free and fun celebration of recognition and inclusion on June 18 starting at 5:30 at WellSpan Park. The event will end at 9:00 and will have limited concessions open. We will enjoy community, music and batting practice on the field. The York Revolution will return to the field at home on Friday, June 19.
Tickets from Thursday’s June 18 game may be exchanged for tickets to any remaining 2026 regular season home game (subject to availability).Exchanges can be made in person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office at WellSpan Park or by calling the ticket office at (717) 801-HITS. On game days, the ticket office is open from 10 a.m. until the end of the fifth inning. On non-game days, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.”
To state the obvious, the purpose and mission of a professional baseball team is to play baseball. The unethical, addled Revolution ownership has declared that its superior mission is to pander to the Gay Etc. lobby. It is not.
Even some members of the LGTBQ community are calling this pander counter-productive. The gay sports website (yes, there is one) “OutSports” griped,
“So instead of finding a way to hold the match, team leaders thought the best way to help the LGBTQ community was to cancel the match and, in the eyes of many people who will see this, blame it on the LGBTQ community and forcing players to wear some Pride jerseys?
“The Revolution get an automatic “loss” because of Pride jerseys. Yeah, fans must love that.
“Team leaders could have let some players wear the jersey and some players not wear the jersey. Yes, in this case it would have made some headlines. Some players would have been singled out. But as far as I’m concerned, many of the players choosing to wear the Pride jersey shows progress….The smartest option: The team could have held the Pride Game, but simply had all the players wear a regular team jersey. If the majority of the players declined to wear the jersey, fine. Just have no one wear it. Even if the club had previously advertised that the players would wear the jerseys with rainbow sleeves, the game would have gone on. And no one would be blaming the LGBTQ community for trying to “force” the players to wear the Pride rainbow…No one is yelling to have a Pride rainbow forced onto a player, even for a Pride Game. Unfortunately, the Revolution’s statement says they tried to force players to wear it.
“Ugh…With the players wearing normal game jerseys, the LGBTQ community, supporters and fans could still come to the game, wave rainbow flags, celebrate, have a good time, raise some money for the community. Instead, the York Revolution felt the best plan of action was to do the one thing that would whack the hornets nest of anti-gay politicians and media pundits, make it clear the club was trying to force players to wear the Pride rainbow, cancel the entire match, and let mayhem ensue.”
Well, at least the activists reach the right conclusion here, but OutSports is denying the culpability of their clan. The LGTBQ lobby is certainly trying to force pro-gay celebrations on everyone else: see #1 abovefc . Fans will blame LGTBQ bullying for the team’s forfeit because that is what the Revolution is accustomed to giving in to it.
Oh, and will somebody tell the staff that if OutSports wants to have any credibility with real sports fans, it should know that a contest between teams in our National Pastime is called a game, not a “match.” That this gaffe would reach publication raises the question of whether gay pandering belongs in baseball at all.
My view: it doesn’t.
Ethics Alarms 
Huntington Beach CA voted similarly – that only the American, California, and Huntington Beach flags be flown
On the jerseys, I have mixed feelings.
On making anyone wear them… I’m right there with all of you: They’re gaudy, they’re wasteful, they’re pandering to a demographic that generally doesn’t care about the sport, and isn’t going to regardless of how much they pander, and like the activists said: It’s entirely stupid and self-defeating for a movement predicated on “just let us do us, it doesn’t really effect you” to be involved in situations where people are being forced to be effected.
That said… I think the players probably should have shut up, worn the jersey, and played the game. The gays didn’t force the club to make those jerseys or decide to pander, the club did that on their own, just like they do damn near every other week for one cause or another, pink jerseys for ladies, camo jerseys for veterans… There’s different jerseys for throwback nights, commemorative events, Friday home games. Your mileage varies by sport and club, but these are well known and genuine work requirements. This is the other side of the coin from when players were kneeling for BLM protests: As opposed to protesting by doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing, they’re protesting by not doing something that they are. Regardless of our personal support for the thing being pandered to (or not), we should probably be consistent.
Because I was curious, I Googled the York Revolution’s alternate uniforms, and I’m just saying….
“The Big Dills” Alternate Identity: For specific theme nights (like their annual “Pickle Party”), the entire team shifts away from the Revolution brand to wear specialized, green-themed “Big Dills” jerseys.
Ritmo de York Uniforms: Worn during multi-game series celebrating Latin Heritage Month and regional cultural connections. These jerseys feature distinct color patterns and are auctioned off to fans post-game.
First Responders & Military Uniforms: Custom jerseys worn on Salute to Service nights, often featuring camouflage or specialized service patches, which are auctioned to support local veterans’ organizations.
Pop Culture & Hero Nights: The team frequently collaborates with major brands for events like “Marvel Night,” where players take the field in custom superhero-inspired jerseys (such as Iron Man themes).
Bark in The Park: When playing Wednesday nights at home, the team plays as the Rescues, and the team completely swaps their standard home whites for a custom jersey featuring a paw print pattern with illustrations of a dog and a cat.
Jersey Potpourri: The club hosts roughly 4 to 6 weekend charity nights per year where players wear custom, themed uniforms—such as superhero themes, “Under the Sea” styles, or patriotic designs, designed for charity auctions.
Christmas in July / Holiday Jerseys: Festive, holiday-inspired variations of their home script jerseys.
Google is telling me that the York wear alternate jerseys at about 20% of all home games.
Maybe you missed it, but I maintain the kneeling fad was materially different. Players standing for the Anthem has been upheld as a known contractual duty. It is traditional, and and it is the status quo that the spectators expect. Kneeling hijacked a portion of the game experience for a political statement that was neither expected or welcome. The Pride pandering is literally the opposite, and players insisting on wearing what they normally wear is hardly obtrusive or unexpected. “I refuse to do what every pro player has done before every came for a century “is not the same as “I refuse to do what the team decided is a political statement it wants to make.”
Oh come on, that’s just sad rationalizing… There is no universe where wearing your team’s jersey is not a “known contractual duty”. Does anyone think it’s optional?
I’m also going to go one step further and point out that playing the anthem is a form of pandering, and that nothing about the contest requires an anthem be played… You just like it.
Your team’s Jerseys are not assumed to be “walking billboards for interest group activism.”
If a part of a game’s ritual is established and universally applied, then it is officially part of the game experience, and it is. Not a rationalization at all….and courts have held that while players are not obligated to be on the field during the anthem, they are obligated to stand if they are. It’s a known condition of employment. Nothing in a player’s contract obligates her or him to give public support for a cause adopted by the team.
I would refuse to wear a mandated Pride jersey even though I supported the celebration. I object to the forced speech, even though I may agree with it.
Your team’s Jerseys are not assumed to be “walking billboards for interest group activism.”
Not only is that irrelevant, it doesn’t have the benefit of being true. One fifth of the time, players are being handed a jersey other than what they normally wear, explicitly to pander to one segment of the audience or another. They are literally walking billboards for interest group activism, and anyone who pretends not to know this is either unfamiliar or being deliberately obtuse. What? You think the dog or pickle uniforms give them a competitive edge?
If a part of a game’s ritual is established and universally applied, then it is officially part of the game experience, and it is.
This seems like something you just made up to reinforce your point. How does something become part of the Game’s ritual? How long does it need to be a ritual to gain protection? And what level of protection does it gain? Because there’s a lot of things that have changed about a lot of sports.
and courts have held that while players are not obligated to be on the field during the anthem, they are obligated to stand if they are.
I have the impression that there’s more to those rulings than you’re letting on. The NFL rulebook doesn’t explicitly require standing, and without a written rule, I would be legitimately amazed that the courts could force specific performance against someone’s first amendment rights. This seems like something that might be team-contract specific.
But then again… So is wearing a jersey.
Nothing in a player’s contract obligates her or him to give public support for a cause adopted by the team.
I would be willing to bet untold amounts of money that there is language in at least some contracts that obligates exactly that.
Is there still any justification in the USA, more than ten years after gay marriage was legalized, to have a Gay Pride month? I guess if you are gay or liberal you consider Gay Pride celebrations all fine and dandy; I prefer not have matters pertaining to sexuality rubbed in my face for a full month. Consider for a moment that a social conservative red state replaces Gay Pride month with a Traditional Family Pride month, and we are required the tradcon lifestyle with lots of homeschooled children. Not that I am in favor of that; and it would offend a lot of people. Celebrate your sexual and family choices at home, or at your wedding. I do not want to compelled to celebrate or affirm other peoples life choices in these matters as they are private matters.
Get rid of all ‘special’ days and months. Every single one of them. They force people to observe or celebrate an issue or agenda that may be antithetical to their belief system. We have plenty of laws that protect rights, and a variety of affirmative action programs that cater to the needs of perceived oppressed groups. The best of intentions has created this mess, but there are so many dedicated days and months they have lost their meaning. So eliminate them all.
Well, let’s keep national doughnut day.
Then there are DIY national days:
https://www.nationaldayarchives.com/register-national-day/
All MLB teams have official ‘City Connect’ uniforms which they regularly wear at selected home games. I saw the Rangers’ 2026 City Connect uniforms last night — they say ‘Tejas’ across the front, but otherwise look fairly normal (previous years City Connects always seemed a bit weird to me). And actually I could argue that ‘Tejas’ captures an important aspect of the MLB player base the last few decades.
It only took me a year or two to figure out that these jerseys were a sponsored thing, and not until I googled it today did I tumble to the fact that they are sponsored by Nike. So every week or two, players are in effect billboards for Nike — broadcasters and ticket promotions are required to highlight that it’s City Connect uniform night.
I either don’t mind much, or am simply used to the constant din of advertisements that comprise a baseball broadcast. I mean, I think the broadcasters have their baseball statistics book at one hand, and a stack of required sponsor’s ‘reads’ at the other. It is all part of the system that lets owners pay tens of millions a year to their superstar players.