The Braves moved into their new stadium, Truist Park in 2017. MLB had planned to hold the 2021 MLB all-star game in the new park. However, MLB decided to move it last minute. This was due to a recent piece of legislation that was released. This isn’t too uncommon in sports. The Hornets lost the 2019 NBA all-star game over bathroom laws. However, this does raise a major question Is it really fair for a sports team to lose a major sporting event over something out of their control like a piece of legislation. Some people believe the Braves have been cheated.
Background
Georgia has recently passed a new set of legislation regarding voting. You can read about the nitty-gritty of the election laws in this article by ap news. There were a lot of cries of fraud during this election cycle. Georgia passed this legislation in order to restore faith in the election process. However, some people believe that this bill will increase voter suppression, which is when you discourage or prevent a group of people from voting to help influence the desired result. Regardless of how you feel it is clear that this legislation has caused controversy. This controversy has caused MLB to remove the all-star game from Atlanta.
Case against removing the game
MLB will make their money no matter what stadium the game is played in. The players will get their bonuses if the game is played on the moon. Who really loses out on the all-star game being moved? Atlanta does. Not only do the Braves lose out on potential profit so do the local businesses who could’ve given their services to tourists. Cleveland made about 65 million dollars off of the 2019 all-star game. Atlanta is getting cheated out of millions of dollars of profit because of a bill that was passed, which is out of the control of the Braves and most of the people in Atlanta.
Case for removing the game
MLB at its core is a business. Like any business, they want their business to be seen in a positive light. Keeping the all-star game in Atlanta could lead to some possible bad press. If they said and did nothing people would see MLB as weak and people would come up with their own interpretations of how they truly feel. If they said they were against voter suppression but didn’t remove the game the people who see this legislation as voter suppression would see them as hypocrites and protest.
MLB decided to not only say they are against voter suppression but to also remove the all-star game from Atlanta as a sign that they mean business. There will of course be people who disagree with this decision. However, for the first time in a while MLB is coming out of a tough situation looking good. MLB looks like the “good guys” standing for morals in the mainstream media. They were able to avoid negative press.
