Major League Baseball is reportedly moving this year’s All-Star Game to Denver after pulling the event from Atlanta last week. The game will be played at Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies.
The MLB took a stance against Georgia state republicans after signing SB 202, a controversial law that restricts voting rights in the state. This law, signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp requires, among other things, government ID to cast a vote and prohibits providing food and water to voters waiting in line. Democrats have argued that many of the restrictions will mostly affect people of color in the state.
This comes after Democrats flipped the typically republican state in Presidential and Senatorial elections giving Democrats a 50-50 split in the Senate with Dem. Vice President Kamala Harris being the tiebreaking vote in the event of a party-line divide on policy.
Former Gubernatorial candidate and voting rights leader Stacey Abrams expressed disappointment in the MLB’s decision to relocate but also criticized state republicans for the legislation.
“Like many Georgians I am disappointed that the MLB is relocating the All-Star game,” Abrams said in a statement. “As I have stated, I respect boycotts, although I don’t want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs.”
CNN is reporting that the move will have an estimated $100 million impact on the state which could be a major blow to Gov. Kemp’s re-election campaign. Gov. Kemp is up for re-election in 2022. Gov. Kemp calls the move from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred a “Knee-Jerk decision” and a product of cancel culture.
“Georgia Republicans must renounce the terrible damage they have caused to our voting system and the harm they have inflicted on our economy,” Abrams said.
