Major League Baseball is being sued $100 million for moving its All-Star Game out of Atlanta.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Job Creators Network filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in New York. The organization, which advocates for small business, is seeking $100 million in damages to local and state small businesses, $1 billion in punitive damages, and the return of the All-Star Game to Atlanta.
“MLB robbed the small businesses of Atlanta — many of them minority-owned — of $100 million, we want the game back where it belongs,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network. “This was a knee-jerk, hypocritical and illegal reaction to misinformation about Georgia’s new voting law which includes Voter-ID. Major League Baseball itself requests ID at will-call ticket windows at Yankee Stadium in New York, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and at ballparks all across the country.”
The 2021 MLB All-Star Game was scheduled to be played July 13 at Truist Park in Atlanta. However, the league opted to move the event on April 2 due to new voting laws in Georgia. The game is now scheduled to be played July 13 in Denver.
“I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB draft,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in April, according to The Associated Press. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”
The lawsuit says metro Atlanta has faced “staggering” financial losses due to the loss of the All-Star Game, including the cancellation of more than 8,000 hotel reservations.
The lawsuit’s defendants are Manfred, Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark.
Related content: MLB Moving All-Star Game Due to Georgie Voting Laws
When the removal of the game was announced, Georgia governor Brian Kemp reportedly said that MLB made a “knee-jerk decision” that means “cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included.” The Braves released a statement saying they’re deeply disappointed by the decision to move the game.
“This was neither our decision, nor our recommendation and we are saddened that fans will not be able to see this event in our city,” the Braves’ statement read. “The Braves organization will continue to stress the importance of equal voting opportunities and we had hoped our city could use this event as a platform to enhance the discussion. Our city has always been known as a united in divided times and we will miss the opportunity to address issues that are important to our community.
