Trump is calling for a MLB boycott after the league said it would move its All-Star game out of Georgia. Conservative lawmakers discussed removing the league's antitrust exemption.
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
- Former President Donald Trump on Friday called for a boycott of Major League Baseball.
- MLB officials said the league would no longer host its All-Star Game in Atlanta.
- The move came in the wake of a restrictive voting law enacted in Georgia last week.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former President Donald Trump on Friday called for a boycott of Major League Baseball, following the league's decision to move its All-Star game out of Georgia.
The league said on Friday that it would no longer host its 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta after Georgia passed a restrictive voting law.
In a statement, Trump said: "Baseball is already losing tremendous numbers of fans, and now they leave Atlanta with their All-Star Game because they are afraid of the Radical Left Democrats who do not want voter I.D., which is desperately needed, to have anything to do with our elections."
He added: "Boycott baseball and all of the woke companies that are interfering with Free and Fair Elections. Are you listening Coke, Delta, and all!"
Coca-Cola and Delta, which both have operations in Georgia, had spoken out against the state's law.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said the company was "disappointed." Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the Georgia law was "unacceptable and does not match Delta's Values."
In asking fans to boycott baseball, Trump joined other conservative lawmakers and commentators calling for punitive measures against the league.
John Amis/AP Photo
Rep. Jeff Duncan on Friday said he'd instructed his staff to draft legislation to remove a federal antitrust exemption for the league. He said MLB officials had sought to "undermine election integrity laws."
"Why does @MLB still have antitrust immunity?" Senator Mike Lee said on Twitter. "It's time for the federal government to stop granting special privileges to specific, favored corporations - especially those that punish their political opponents."
Senator Ted Cruz shared Lee's statement, adding: "EXACTLY right."
President Joe Biden earlier in the week had voiced support for moving the game, which was scheduled for July 13. Biden called the new voting law "Jim Crow on steroids."
"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," said Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner, in a statement.
The Atlanta Braves in a statement said it was "deeply disappointed" by the league's decision to relocate.
"Unfortunately, businesses, employees, and fans in Georgia are the victims of this decision," the team's statement said.
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