Truist Park in Atlanta, the home of the Atlanta Braves baseball club. (Wikimedia Commons)
Claiming its "values" are at stake, Major League Baseball announced Friday it is moving the 2021 All-Star Game and 2021 draft from Atlanta in protest of new Georgia election-integrity laws that critics claim discriminate against minorities.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement the league is "finalizing a new host city and details about these events will be announced shortly."
"Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views," Manfred said.
"I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year's All-Star Game and MLB Draft."
The announcement comes after President Biden endorsed moving the All-Star Game, calling the Georgia laws "Jim Crow on steroids."
In an interview with ESPN and in statements to media, Biden has repeated the false claim that the new law prohibits food and drink at polling places and mandates the polls close at 5 p.m.
The Georgia law does implement restrictions distributing food and drink near polling places, but they are similar to restrictions in Biden's home state of Delaware and other states. The intent is to prevent lobbyists from influencing voters. The law does not ban voters from bringing or ordering food. And poll workers are allowed to set ou self-service water stations and distribute food donated for general use.
And the law does not change change voting hours. In fact, it expands voting access for most state residents. It also adds ID requirements for mail-in votes and restricts the use of ballot drop boxes.
The Washington Post fact-checker gave Biden its maximum five "Pinocchios" for his statements.
Democrats long have charged that voter ID requirements are racist, contending they disproportionately affect blacks and other minorities. That's a notion -- the idea they don't have a photo ID or are less capable of obtaining one -- that many black leaders have condemned as patronizing and racist in itself.
In fact, a recent Ramussen survey found 69% of likely black voters favor voter ID laws. Only 21% are opposed to such a requirement.
In his statement, the commissioner said Major League Baseball "fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."
"In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States," he said. "We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game's unwavering support."
On Wedneday, Georgia's Republican-majority House voted to remove a multi-million dollar jet fuel tax for Delta Air Lines after the Atlanta-based company's CEO released a memo to employees calling the new voting laws an "excuse" to "restrict voting rights."
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