Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has rejected an invitation to throw the first pitch during the Texas Rangers’ home opening game coming up today. Abbott rejected the offer because the MLB moved the all-star game out of Atlanta because of a voting law signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kemp’s law requires absentee ballot voters to provide photo ID, just like their in-person voting requires. Democrats criticized the law, blasting it as “voter suppression.” As a result, MLB stated they will move the all-star game out of Atlanta, possibly causing the city to lose revenue and jobs with the game no-longer taking place in their town. The MLB all-star game has a big potential to draw huge crowds, increase revenue, and provide jobs if extra staff is needed.
Abbott wrote a letter to Neil Leibman, the chief operating officer for the Texas Rangers.
The letter stated that Abbott was excited for the upcoming season until MLB pulled the all-star game out of Atlanta.
Specifically, the letter said, he was “looking forward” to it “until Major League Baseball adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about the election law reforms in Georgia, and, based on that false narrative, moved the MLB All-Star game from Atlanta.”
President Joe Biden said he supports pulling the all-star game.
The MLB now faces potential boycotts from Republicans who disagree with what they did to the all-star game.
WATCH Joe Biden make his statement about the MLB all-star game:
Photo: Gage Skidmore