President Joe Biden on Wednesday night backed the Major League Baseball (MLB) organization potentially moving its All-Star game out of Atlanta, Georgia in protest of the state’s recently passed restrictions on voting.
“I would strongly support them doing that,” Biden said during an interview on ESPN. “People look to them. They’re leaders.”
He asserted that “today’s professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly.”
Last week, Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) executive director Tony Clark told the Boston Globe that he was open to discussing with the league whether to pull the All-Star game from Atlanta after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the GOP-controlled legislature’s bill that would create barriers on many people in the Peach State, especially Black Georgians, from being able to vote.
“If there is an opportunity to, we would look forward to having that conversation,” Clark said.
Local news outlet 11Alive reports that businesses in Cobb County, where the All-Star game will be held in July, would lose nearly $40 million if the game were moved out.
Cobb County Commission Chair Lisa Cupid expects to meet with the MLBPA to discuss the issue at some point, possibly on Thursday, according to 11Alive.
Organizations like the MLB and major corporations based in Atlanta are under pressure from voting rights advocates and Black business leaders to speak out and/or take action against the anti-voting law.
The CEOs for Delta, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft slammed the voting restrictions on Wednesday.
