Baseball Team Forfeits Pride Night Game After Players Refuse to Wear Rainbow Jerseys
· Yahoo Sports
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Pennsylvania club baseball team York Revolution forfeited a Pride Night game scheduled for June 18 because several of its players refused to wear the rainbow commemorative jerseys, per local ABC affiliate WHTM.
“This decision was not reached lightly,” a June 17 statement by the York Revolution reads. “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.”
The jerseys, which were especially designed for the Pride Night event, feature rainbow sleeves with the word “Pride’ written across the back of the baseball jersey.
Instead of playing the scheduled game against Southern Maryland, the 11th annual Pride Night game will be forfeited and the rest of the night’s programming will continue as scheduled. The team stated that they feel it is “the best way to stay consistent with our long-standing partnerships” with organizations like the Rainbow Rose Center, JLS Automation, among other supporters of the Revolution.
“To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York,” the statement continues.
The team will be making a $10,000 donation to the Rainbow Rose Center, an LGBTQ+ community center serving York, “as a small token of our regret for the last-minute change of plans and support for our LGBTQIA+ representing partners.” Because the game was intended to be free to the community, people can instead use their tickets as a freebie to see another baseball game during the 2026 season without charge during the season.
Though the game has been forfeited, the team encourages people to attend Pride Night and the rest of the programming scheduled at WellSpan Park, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. and include batting practice and music.
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