[BREAKING] DOJ’s civil rights chief slams Giants, MLB after launching Pride hat investigation: ‘It doesn’t really matter how gay San Francisco is’

Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's civil rights chief, offered harsh criticism of Major League Baseball and the San Francisco Giants for what he called a “double standard” toward religious expression, as federal officials investigate whether Christian players were pressured to wear Pride-themed hats.

"It really doesn't matter how gay San Francisco is: These workers have rights," Dhillon told The Post in an exclusive interview Friday.

"They have the right not to be forced to live in a situation like this.

They have the right to seek a religious agreement." The investigation follows Giants Pride Night on June 12 at Oracle Park, when four pitchers protested the team's rainbow-themed caps.

Relievers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their caps, while pitcher Sam Hentges opted not to wear the cap at all.

Days later, MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed that the players had received a warning, saying that the writing on the caps violated the league's uniform rules and that the players had been warned against future violations.

Dhillon said the Justice Department referred the matter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which has primary authority over private sector workplace discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

“They don't care when players put messages that the woke left approves of on their uniforms,” Dhillon said.

"They don't mind when players kneel and display all kinds of things at work, but when people refuse to be forced to promote a sexual practice that goes against their religion, they threaten them." The league later clarified that the warning was “non-disciplinary” and “had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message,” noting that MLB uniform regulations prohibit players from writing messages on clothing or equipment and that similar warnings have been issued for personal messages such as “Dad” or “Happy Mother's Day.” The controversy has sparked fierce debate in San Francisco, where the annual Giants Pride Night is a featured event.

State Sen.

Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, accused the team of condoning behavior that caused “pain and anger” within the LGBTQ community.

"The Giants should publicly commit to enforcing rules on uniform defacement and should not effectively create a homophobia exemption to those rules," Wiener said in a statement.

San Francisco Mayor Dnaiel Lurie said he was "really upset and disappointed" by the players' decision, while Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, whose son is gay, said the players are entitled to their beliefs but should recognize the city they represent.

"What makes San Francisco so great is the acceptance of others — ethnicities, opinions, cultures — and that extends to the gay community," Krukow told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Dhillon, who lived in San Francisco for nearly 25 years before joining the Trump administration, said the city's prominent LGBTQ+ culture does not change employers' legal obligations.

"You can celebrate gay rights, that's fine," he said.

"But what they are doing is forcing their workers to use, at work, messages that are anathema to most religions." Dhillon, a longtime attorney who represented religious liberty plaintiffs before taking charge of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said she acted quickly after hearing concerns from lawmakers, lawyers and members of the public.

“I received calls and inquiries from the United Nations.

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