Major League Baseball announced Friday it was moving this summer's All-Star Game from Atlanta's Truist Park, a response to Georgia enacting a new law last month restricting voting rights.
MLB had awarded the game to Atlanta in May 2019 and the game was scheduled for July 13 as part of baseball's midsummer break that includes the Futures Game on July 11 and Home Run Derby the following night.
Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star events and the amateur draft, which had been scheduled to be held in Atlanta for the first time. A new ballpark for this year's events wasn't immediately revealed.
MLB's announcement came eight days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections that includes new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run.
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.”
“Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support,” Manfred said.
Cardboard cutouts of fans in the otherwise empty seats face the field during the sixth inning of a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays in Atlanta, in this Thursday, July 30, 2020, file photo. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
Other sports have moved high-profile events because of social issues.
In the early 1990s, the NFL shifted the Super Bowl out of Arizona after the state failed to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day an official holiday.
The NBA moved the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, when the league took issue with a state law that cut anti-discrimination protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The NCAA for years didn’t hold championships in states where the Confederate battle flag was officially recognized.
This year’s All-Star Game will include honoring Hank Aaron, the Braves’ Hall of Famer and former career home run champion who died on Jan. 22 at age 86.
“We will continue with our plans to celebrate the memory of Hank Aaron during this season’s All-Star festivities,” Manfred said. “In addition, MLB’s planned investments to support local communities in Atlanta as part of our All-Star legacy projects will move forward. We are finalizing a new host city and details about these events will be announced shortly.”
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred speaks on his phone as he watches a spring training baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Fort Myers, Fla.. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
MLB canceled last year's All-Star Game, which had been scheduled for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, due to the late and shortened season caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The 2022 game will be played at Dodger Stadium.
MLB has awarded the 2026 All-Star Game to Philadelphia as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The 1972 All-Star Game was played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and the 2000 All-Star Game was at Atlanta's Turner Field.
Updated on April 2, 2021, at 3:49 p.m. ET with the latest details.
The average city in California has a 38% higher cost of living than the average American city, according to a cost of living index. For many, the general minimum wage of $15/hour just doesn't cut it. Anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg wants to get the minimum wage changed to $18/hour. He joins Cheddar News to discuss the Living Wage Act of 2022.
Liana Guzmán, CEO of FOLX Health, joins Cheddar News to discuss the company launching billboards across the country in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
President Biden has announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including artillery, armored personnel carriers, and helicopters. It comes as Russian forces appear to be preparing for a new, aggressive offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine. Paul McLeary, defense reporter for Politico, joined Cheddar to discuss this new round of aid and what it means for the U.S. commitment to arming the embattled country.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 18, 2022, with Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian city of Lviv killing seven, mass shootings in South Carolina and Pittsburgh, Lucky Charms cereal under official investigation by the FDA, and more.
Activism is growing around the country in response to school boards banning books from shelves that focus on sexuality, gender, identity, or race. Jen Cousins, co-founder of The Florida Freedom to Read Project, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies, President Biden has announced a ban on importing Russian oil, gas, and energy. To discuss how this ban will impact the war and Americans, Amir Handjani, non-resident fellow at Quincy Institute, joins Cheddar News.
Thousands of protesters around the world are expressing their solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
Jason Beardsley, national executive director of the Association of the U.S. Navy and national security expert, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
As gas prices surge amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, other nations could potentially transition faster to using clean energy than previously expected. Philip K. Verleger, a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, joined Cheddar News to explain how this could be a possibility in the near future. "Part of the reason I think we have this invasion and the tantrum that's being thrown by Russia, terrible tantrum, is because the Russians were trying to slow down the transition," he said. "Ironically they speeded it up."
