Major League Baseball announced Friday that it was moving the 2021 All-Star Game from Truist Park in Cobb County because of a controversial new Georgia elections law.
Despite the protestations of Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid earlier this week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement that “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”
You can read the full statement here. The MLB statement said the baseball draft also scheduled for Truist Park is being moved. A new city for both events in mid-July has not been announced.
The relocation decision comes a week after the Georgia legislature passed sweeping changes to elections laws that opponents said amount to voter suppression.
On two separate occasions this week, Cupid implored MLB to keep the game at Truist Park, and on Wednesday met with the head of the MLB players’ union.
A Democrat who is Cobb’s first black head of government, Cupid also opposes the new elections law. But she lamented comments from President Joe Biden calling it “Jim Crow on steroids” and his demands to move the game from Georgia.
The law was passed by a Republican-dominated legislature and was quickly signed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, and has been roundly denounced by Democratic and voting-rights interests.
The new law adds identification requirements for mailed ballots, restricts the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, requires more advanced voting across the state and shortens runoff elections.
The legislature also has oversight of proposed changes to election rules by the Secretary of State and state elections board.
Republicans had tried to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting and early voting on Sundays, but those were dropped from the final bill.
Cupid said Thursday that “I would be open to a discussion with the President and others about alternative actions that would channel our frustration into an opportunity to use this event as a chance to openly discuss this legislation, voter participation, and inclusion and then find an applicable response.”
That proved to be too little, too late, as political pressure accelerated following Biden’s comments.
Cobb County government spokesman Ross Cavitt said Cupid would respond to the All-Star decision later Friday afternoon.
The Braves issued a statement saying the club is “deeply disappointed” with moving the game, and that “unfortunately, businesses, employees and fans in Georgia are the victims of this decision.”
The Braves, who last hosted the All-Star Game at Turner Field in 1999, were going to use this year’s game to honor the legacy of home run king Henry Aaron, who died in January.
“The Braves organization will continue to stress the importance of equal voting opportunities and we had hoped our city could use this event as a platform to enhance the discussion,” the statement said.
“Our city has always been known as a uniter in divided times and we will miss the opportunity to address issues that are important to our community.”
The Cobb County Republican Party posted a brief reaction on its Facebook page Friday afternoon, saying that “MLB doesn’t just support stealing bases…they apparently support stealing votes!”
The Cobb Democratic Party responded by saying that “blame for this lies solely at the feet of Governor Kemp and the Georgia GOP for supporting anti-American, anti-democratic legislation. It’s a new day. Jim Crow 2.0 ain’t gonna fly.”
Kemp accused MLB of [caving] [in]to “fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies. Georgians—and all Americans—should fully understand what the MLB’s knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included. If the left doesn’t agree with you, facts and the truth do not matter.”
He blamed the “repeated lies from Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams about a bill that expands access to the ballot box and ensures the integrity of our elections. I will not back down. Georgians will not be bullied.”
Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2016 who is considered a likely candidate to run against Kemp again next year, said she’s disappointed the All-Star Game is leaving Georgia.
“Georgians targeted by voter suppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We should not abandon the victims of GOP malice and lies,” she said. “Georgia Republicans must renounce the terrible damage they have caused to our voting system and the harm they have inflicted on our economy.”
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Cobb PARKS staff is hosting its annual Fishing Rodeo in July. The competition is open to children ages 3-16 and trophies will be awarded for the five biggest fish overall. Participants must bring their own fishing gear and bait.
