UPDATE: MLB relocating All-Star events from Georgia after voting bill approved
- Thread starter LadyStanley
- Start date
Taro Tsujimoto
Registered User
The following teams are scheduled to be on the road for each of their final two series prior to the All-Star Game, thus their home parks would be able to host the game should it be relocated: Athletics (last hosted 1987), Blue Jays (last hosted 1991), Cardinals (last hosted 2009), Nationals (last hosted 2018), Phillies (last hosted 1996), Reds (last hosted 2015), Rockies (lasted hosted 1998), Tigers (last hosted 2005), White Sox (last hosted 2003), Yankees (last hosted 2008).
AdmiralsFan24
Registered User
GindyDraws
I will not disable my Adblock, HF
Hmm... this is a radical idea, but why not punish the state of Georgia by moving the All-Star Game to Tropicana Field?
There's a reason why nobody has ever wanted it to host an All-Star Game, so putting it there out of spite will ruffle some feathers.
There's a reason why nobody has ever wanted it to host an All-Star Game, so putting it there out of spite will ruffle some feathers.
PhillyWings
Registered User
Except they haven't. Only one party is actively pushing legislation to make voting harder for citizens.
LadyStanley
Registered User
Is this not approaching the "no politics" line this forum is supposed to have? No offense, I get its related to the topic, but, if this isn't completely political, I don't know what is.
Taro Tsujimoto
Registered User
It's very sad when a political party acts in an anti-democratic matter. Braves ownership certainly cannot be impressed that said party has cost them revenue and increased exposure both regionally and abroad.
While I won't agree with the decision to move the ASG, I will gain a modicum of respect for Manfred if he resigns his Augusta National Golf Club membership.
For those concerned about my health, though, I will not be holding my breath.
For those concerned about my health, though, I will not be holding my breath.
LadyStanley
Registered User
Reports: Rockies to host All-Star Game at Coors Field after MLB pulled game from Atlanta
MLB moved the All-Star Game out of Atlanta last week in response to Georgia's new restrictive voting laws.
Heading to Colorado, apparently
MLB moved the All-Star Game out of Atlanta last week in response to Georgia's new restrictive voting laws.
Heading to Colorado, apparently
By "making voting harder for citizens" do you mean requiring some proof of ID or are there other restrictions you're referring to?
Most other countries require ID to vote as do many states. You can be opposed to this measure and think that ID should not be required to vote, but at least be honest about it and acknowledge that there is a valid reason to have this requirement (to reduce voter fraud) versus insinuating this is JUST being done in an effort to reduce voter turnout.
I listened to CJ Nitkowski this morning on MLB Radio. He made some great points. #1, where are the details on the decision? He said they owe the fans more than the generalities that were given. #2, Do you really want to put yourself in a position where a US Senator is asking the Commissioner if he will resign ANGC membership, or is he just a fraud? Where a governor won't throw out the first pitch in response. #3, with all the financial issues that have come into play this year, why would you want to give people a reason to not watch/participate? #4, if the Coors Field rumors are true, now you will have people comparing voting laws in Colorado vs Georgia. Do you really want that to be a part of baseball?
I know a number of people are reflexively, "yes we do", but if you really think it through, and if the shoe is on the other foot.
I know a number of people are reflexively, "yes we do", but if you really think it through, and if the shoe is on the other foot.
Bjorn Le
Hobocop
Man, if you think it was not the right move financially and reputationally for the league to move the All Star game, I've got some swamp land to sell you.
In this day and age, for a business entity to not be politically aware of what they're doing is simply not being a good business. MLB had zero choice but to move the AS game, and Georgia is going to suffer a lot more than just the loss of All-Star weekend with the passage of this law.
PCSPounder
Stadium Groupie
The biggest issue with the law is that the Georgia Secretary of State had powers stripped and the legislature can now make an essentially partisan decision to overturn the election.
Voter ID wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it was more easily issued or accessed. Not everyone drives, and not every state makes it easy to obtain photo ID otherwise... consider how Alabama closed county licensing offices in primarily African-American counties, for instance. The opinions on ID requirements, for instance, turn on a dime if we start talking about NATIONAL identification.
Plus, oh, yes, Georgia made,more opportunities for rural voters... at the expense of suburban and urban voters. None of the laws passed specifically singled out African-Americans and other races to make it harder... and the same was true of the Jim Crow laws that preceded them.
The law dictates that the newly created chair of this board be "nonpartisan" and has guardrails in place to try to enforce that, including restrictions on the candidate's previous history in public office and campaign contributions. Also it is a massive jump to talk this board overturning an election and this has nothing to do with your original statement of "Only one party is actively pushing legislation to make voting harder for citizens."
What percentage of the legal voting population do you think does not have a valid ID?
You need an ID in this country to: drive, fly, rent/buy an apartment or house, apply for a job, apply for unemployment/welfare, apply to school, purchase alcohol/tobacco/lottery tickets/over-the-counter medication, pick up a prescription, rent a hotel room, cash a check and many other activities.
It's extremely difficult to be a functioning adult in this country without a valid ID.
It's also not that difficult to obtain - yes, it likely requires a trip to the Georgia Department of Driver Services where they will then give you a free ID. People also have to register to vote - is that too much to ask as well? I would assume at least some of these ID-less people would have friends/family willing to transport them to the DDS or they could call a taxi (since you can't use Lyft or Uber without an ID either...though good luck getting a phone line without an ID) or since these ID-less people are of such great concern now, maybe there can be outreach programs to help them get ID's so they can legally vote. Set up a hotline or website where these people can reach out and a volunteer will work with them to get them a valid ID, including providing the transportation. It would be very simple to do for something that has become a national issue and if we're being honest, we're not talking about very many people in this situation.
If that was really what this was about, that would be the logical solution. Instead, they are looking to eliminate the requirement to show any actual proof of identification for the 7.6M registered voters in Georgia to help out the dozens...maybe hundreds (if I'm being generous) of individuals in the state that have no valid ID but want to register to vote. A change that would obviously result in some level of increased voter fraud.
There are a lot of valid concerns about election integrity, especially considering the claims of fraud from both sides in Georgia the past two election cycles. Requiring voter ID helps to alleviate these concerns and is something that is required in most other countries.
What changes are you referring to here and are there any other logical explanations?
You have the President of the United States repeatedly calling these changes "Jim Crow on steroids" and MLB moving the All-Star game, so there should be some really concrete evidence of the undisputable discrimination that were the driving force behind these new laws.
How is it good business to get involved in politically divisive issues such as this, when it will surely upset a significant portion of the fan base - some of which will take action as a result? I think you're being naïve if you think this move will help and not hurt MLB.
MLB could have easily kept the game there (and not hurt all the surrounding businesses/workers that were the main beneficiaries of the All-Star Game and had absolutely nothing to do with these laws) and used the game as a platform to call out the parts of the law that they felt was unjust. It's setting a bad precedent to get involved in local, legally legislated laws.
Bjorn Le
Hobocop
No, I'm not being naïve, but you are being ignorant.
Businesses live and die on their reputation today. This isn't the 1980s where CSR wasn't really a thing that mattered; how a company is perceived in 2021 has a massive effect on their bottom line. And being perceived to support a state that is actively trying to suppress the votes of their competitor party? That's bad news f***ing bears.
Reputation is even more important for a business like professional sports. Teams and leagues derive most of their revenue today from public-facing ventures: TV deals and sponsorship. If MLB would have stayed in Georgia for the ASG, both of those would have been threatened.
It's funny how you say "it's setting a bad precedent to get involved in local, legally legislated laws" but instead suggest the correct business move would have been to keep the ASG in Georgia and then criticize these "local, legally legislated laws."
Spirit of 67
Registered User
I did and I laid out my argument in a subsequent post.
If you would like to dispute anything I've actually said, then please do so.
Saying "do your homework" is flat out lazy and adds nothing to the conversation, which is what these should be about. Since you apparently know so much on the topic, this should be very easy for you.
