New reports have shed further light on MLB's seemingly abrupt decision to relocate this year's All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia's recently passed voter laws.
Commissioner Rob Manfred apparently "blindsided" the league's owners when the announcement came down late last week, one report said, while a separate article indicated that dealing with the owners will be Manfred's biggest challenge in the wake of the move.
Manfred seemed to bypass or limit discussions with many or most of the league's ultra-wealthy, conservative-leaning owners before the move was announced, according to MLB insiders Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal.
The commish's apparent unilateral move continues a recent trend of growing independence from the league's owners, the reporters added. He moved similarly in doling out punishments related to the Houston Astros' cheating scandal, they said.
Regarding the Midsummer Classic, Manfred claimed he had conferred with former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams before making his decision, according to Charles Gasparino of Fox Business, but Abrams later released a mixed message saying she was "disappointed" in the boycott because it would hurt small businesses, workers and fans.
The league's owners were "blindsided" by at least the timing of the move, Gasparino added, suggesting some of them expected further discussions before a decision was made.
On Monday, conservative Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick, who according to Drellich and Rosenthal has previously donated to the campaign of far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert, railed against moving the game during a radio appearance.
Kendrick separately told the reporters in a text message that sports leagues should stay out of politics, echoing the reactions of several conservative lawmakers, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
The MLB Players Association had no input on the move, according to the report, though the group's president, former Tigers and Red Sox slugger Tony Clark, had previously said the players were open to discussing a move.