Major League Baseball plans to move its All-Star game to Denver after the league announced on Friday that it was withdrawing the game from Atlanta in protest against the state’s new restrictive voting laws.
The league is due to announce on Tuesday that the game, scheduled for July 13, will take place at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, USA Today reported on Monday night citing a person with knowledge of the decision.
The city of Denver began lobbying to host the game after the MLB announced it was withdrawing competition from Atlanta, according to Yahoo Finance.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock told the vehicle that his city was “ready to host” the game, citing the city’s “progressive voting system”.
“We are proud to welcome you and talk about the progressive voting system in Denver, which aims to ensure that no one, no one is prevented from having their right to vote,” Hancock told Yahoo Finance.
“We will show this, but most importantly, we can demonstrate to the Major League Baseball that we are prepared and ready to host [the All-Star Game] in July, if they still choose us, ”he added.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the decision to withdraw the All-Star Game from Atlanta in a statement on Friday, writing “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports the right to vote for all Americans and is opposed to restrictions on ballots”.
Manfred said the decision was made after talks with teams and players found that taking the game out of Peach State was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport”.
Last month, the governor of Georgia Brian Kemp
Brian KempJuan Williams: Corporate leaders must overturn Georgia’s unfair law Some legislators from the Georgia Republican Party want Coca-Cola products removed from offices Right-wing political culture, professional sports and state economies: We’ve seen this before MORE (R) signed a broad electoral bill that tightened voting regulations in the state, including limiting the use of ballot boxes and defining photo identification requirements for absentee voting.
The legislation also makes it a crime to distribute water or food to individuals in line, claiming that such provisions are a form of donation that should be prohibited.