Last week, excited baseball fans were preparing for the first full length Major League Baseball season since 2019. Atlanta was set to host the All-Star festivities in July. Last season, the mid-summer classic was canceled in Los Angeles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in only a 60 game season for MLB. Atlanta was getting prepared for a normal, full capacity week filled event to put them on the stage in front of the rest of the nation.
Not anymore.
A week ago, Georgia’s government passed a new bill with new voting restrictions in an effort to prevent the disaster of what was the 2020 presidential election. To be clear, I am not writing this blog to debate whether or not the bill was a good move. I don’t care if you voted for Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or if you wrote in Joe Rogan. The election was handled poorly by our government, and it was only a matter of time until we saw states take action on the matter to avoid the issue in future elections. Georgia happened to be one of the first to make their move.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was pressured by the media and activists to do something about the All Star in Atlanta following the passing of the new bill. The city, the fans, the Atlanta Braves organization, and the league had absolutely nothing to do with the politics in Georgia. Logically speaking, Manfred didn’t need to do a thing. It wasn’t his place. But the man found a another opportunity to stroke his ego and put his face on all media outlets. He decided to pull the plug on All Star week in Atlanta, after the season had just started. As a result, innocent people will continue to get hurt.
We have seen this before. Back in 2016, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver pulled the 2017 All Star weekend away from Charlotte, North Carolina after a new bill was passed in the state which limited anti-discrimination towards the LGBTQ community. While many star players were understanding, they had mentioned their sadness for Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan who had big plans for the city that weekend. Charlotte hosted the All Star weekend in 2019 with no issues.
While I have been a supporter of Adam Silver, this may have been his worst move as the commissioner. He did admit while debating on his decision that he and the league did not have any say in state politics. However, it was still a smack in the face towards the city and Michael Jordan. Did he really think one of the greatest players of all time would allow any disrespect to anyone in the NBA community?! Did he really think the city of Charlotte would tolerate any discrimination towards anyone during these events?! My gut says no, but his actions say otherwise. The city and organization, not the state politicians, lost out in 2017.
So here we are again. A commissioner for a professional sports organization making a big move, because a state in which the All Star game was scheduled to be in made a political decision that wasn’t to his liking. He doesn’t live in that state so it isn’t anything personal. The move to remove the All Star week does little, if anything, towards the bill itself. It’s not like there will be a revote because big, bad baseball boss took the special game away. So what damage did Manfred do to the city of Atlanta?
Imagine if you will, you own a restaurant in downtown Atlanta. The pandemic completely destroyed your constent flow of business. Somehow, you survived 2020. You start seeing signs that the end of the pandemic is near. Braves season starts and you still have the Hawks playing. Business is starting to pick up. You circle on your calendar the second week of July, in which you view is the turnaround. Only one city hosts the MLB All Star week, and it just happened to be where your business is located. That week will help make up for the nightmare year.
But no. You’re not allowed to have it. Your state politicians made a decision out of your control, and as a result the league commissioner decided to punish you and others by taking away the opportunity to host the events in your city. Once again, a rich man has taken away more from the small businesses. It couldn’t come at a worst time.
Now imagine being a part of the Atlanta Braves organization. If you’re ownership, you lost massive amounts of money due to no fans in the stands last season. You have listened to everything Manfred said to help keep the league going through the pandemic. All protocols are met whether you liked it or not. If you’re a concession stands worker, you just got your job back. You are looking forward to full capacity soon and the extra hours All Star week will bring. If you work in marketing, sales, or any other front office position, ownership either bailed you out last season or you were let go. If you got your job back with the Braves, it is a fortunate step forward in your career path.
You survive the mess of 2020. You obeyed all the rules. And due to powers beyond your control, you still get opportunities taken away from you. It is a damn shame.
Imagine being one of the players. Yes, you earn a very nice paycheck playing the best game in world history. But there are certain rare opportunities most players don’t experience. Representing the home team as an All Star is one of them. I remember when the events were in Cleveland in 2019. Indians players telling the local news media how much it meant to them to represent the team, and what it meant to their career. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Braves players such as Ronald Acuna Jr and Freddie Freeman have it taken away from them.
And of course the fans. After being away from the stadium for a year, they had something special to look forward to and now need to get a refund. We all have suffered during the pandemic in some way or another. But why add more pain to people who didn’t deserve it?!
Bottom line. There is a wall between sports business and politics. Yes, people around the leagues should be free to speak their political beliefs. But when it comes to action, the leaders need to recognize whether or not what they are doing will accomplish anything positive in their communities. In this case, the issue needs to be handled by Georgia politicians and their citizens. A rich guy sitting in his mansion in Rome, New York will not be a relevant factor in this situation. This move by Manfred is an insult to the city and organization that made no decision what so ever for the bill. Now they have to suffer so the commissioner can have his time in the spotlight.
The 2021 All Star game will be held at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. Home to the Colorado Rockies. I wish the people of Denver a safe and successful event week.
As for Rob Manfred, he has continued to prove to me that Roger Goodell is no longer the worst commissioner in sports. Manfred owes the city of Atlanta BIG TIME! If he ever is itching to make another big move he should just remove himself from his position.
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