Voting Law Costs Georgia an All-Star Game

Major League Baseball moved the All-Star Game from Atlanta's Truist Park on Friday, a response to Georgia enacting a new law restricting voting rights. MLB had awarded the game to Atlanta in 2019, and it was scheduled for July 13 as part of baseball's midsummer break. But Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star events as well as the amateur draft, which would have been held in Atlanta for the first time, the AP reports. Manfred made the decision after discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, individual players, and the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players formed after the death of George Floyd last year.

“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,” Manfred said in a statement. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.” Major companies have announced opposition to the voting law, which was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp last week, and President Biden had endorsed moving the All-Star Game. The new location for the game will be announced soon, Manfred said, per ESPN. He said MLB will go ahead with its investments in Atlanta communities under its All-Star Legacy Projects.

(More voting rights stories.)