By Eugene Onischenko @ Shutterstock.com
Baseball has decided to move Major League Baseball’s All-Star games from Atlanta to Denver’s Coors Field. By rushing to abandon Atlanta without first protesting the substance of the law, Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, made a serious mistake, argues Fay Vincent in the WSJ.
Organizations like Major League Baseball have sometimes participated in public debates over policy. Moving directly to an economic sanction suggests that Mr. Manfred believed the Georgia law required drastic intervention. Fay Vincent, former baseball commissioner from 1989 to 1992, asks WSJ readers to first consider what Mr. Manfred did not do:
- He didn’t limit the number of home games the Atlanta Braves will play. He would have needed the approval of the players’ union to do that, and Braves owner John Malone would surely resist. To move the site of the All-Star Game is one thing; to ignore union and ownership powers is quite another.
- He didn’t spell out specific criticism of Georgia’s voting law. Now he has put himself in the indefensible position of defending Colorado’s voting law
As the MLB gets ready to boycott conservatives, Mr. Vincent offers what he learned while commissioner: Americans view baseball as a public trust.
They want the game to stand for the best and noblest of our national virtues. They see baseball as the repository of their dreams, even as they root for their favorite teams. They don’t want, and won’t accept, anything that separates them from the game’s history and leadership.
Major League Baseball can’t become a weapon in the culture wars, a hostage for one political party or ideology. It can’t be only for the rich or the poor, nor can it only be for one race, as it was until 1947. Baseball must always stand above politics and its dark elements of corruption, greed and sordid selfishness. It can’t go wrong by standing for national greatness.
Major League Baseball is boycotting a state that leads the nation in allowing access to the pols. According to the MLB, asking for an ID in order to cast a ballot is racist. Can the MLB have forgotten that it asks for an ID from anyone buying a ticket to a game?
In a recent email, Rand Paul outlines the timeline of the MLB. As the MLB was attacking Georgia for standing up to fight for voter integrity, the League was cozying up to the Chinese Communist Party. The League was pulling the All-Star game out of Atlanta to boycott Georgia’s election security law, as the MLB was signing a “lavish new contract with Tencent.” Tencent is giant a media company owned by the Communist Chinese government.
Urging Americans to push back, Senator Paul writes:
If MLB is boycotting states that pass Republican election integrity laws, maybe Republicans should boycott Major League Baseball?
That’s right — MLB would rather associate with the Chinese Communist Party than with conservatives like you.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden told ESPN he “strongly” supported the MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Games from Atlanta. He refused to say on Tuesday that the Masters Tournament should also boycott Georgia over the state’s new election law.
“I think that’s up to the Masters,” said Joe Biden.
With the MLB pullout, Georgia’s losses could amount to $100 M, it is reported. The losses will primarily affect hourly wage earners.
If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for the Richardcyoung.com free weekly email.
