Atlanta and the state of Georgia appears to have found itself at the intersection of politics and sports.
Major League Baseball is set to have its All-Star Game at Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, on July 13 this summer, but recent legislation passed in Georgia may result in the league reconsidering.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB is conducting “preliminary conversations” on how to handle potential calls to move the site of the 2021 MLB All-Star Game due to the new law that was passed last week which restricts voting rights.
Many critics argue that the law, which was signed into action by Gov. Brian Kemp, unfairly targets Black and minority communities with limitations on ballot drop boxes, strict requirements on voter ID for absentee ballots and making it a misdemeanor to hand out food and water to people waiting to vote in long lines.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark told the Boston Globe that “players are very much aware” of what’s happening in Georgia, but said there has not been any conversation with the league on the issue – yet.
Passan noted MLB faces a complicated challenge in that the league’s players and owners skew conservative, but also does not want to alienate its Black players, especially as baseball continues to see a decline in Black players and interest from fans.
Last year, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and the league’s general managers showed their support for “Black Lives Matter” after tensions rose across the country about social injustice.
Boycotting the All-Starr Game in Atlanta would certainly be another step in showing their support for Black athletes, however, not everyone who opposes the law feels as if a boycott would be wise.
Cobb County chairwoman Lisa Cupid, a Democrat who opposed the bill, believes MLB should keep the All-Star Game in Atlanta, pointing out that retail, travel and tourism are the country’s top industries.
But she understands why people may feel that way.
“I recognize that some do not want to play baseball here in Cobb County because our state legislators have not played fair,” she said on Tuesday, per FOX 5 Atlanta. “And I agree. Time and time again, we have proven the integrity of our 2020 elections. Still, some choose to create a solution to a problem that did not exist.”
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