The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played in Denver, following its removal from Atlanta in protest against Georgia’s new restrictive voting law, several sources told ESPN on Monday.
The annual “Midsummer Classic” was set for July 13 at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, in addition to other activities related to the game, including the annual MLB Draft.
Now it is supposed to be played at Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, for the first time since 1998.
NBC News contacted the MLB for confirmation and details of the change overnight, but did not receive an immediate response.
Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. said the All-Star Game had to be withdrawn from Georgia “to demonstrate our values as a sport” after Georgia Republicans approved restrictive changes in the state’s electoral process last month.
The new law adds a number of restrictions, including requiring identification for postal voting and making it illegal to bring food or water to voters in line.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill into effect immediately, calling it “common sense” legislation, while aligning himself with former President Donald Trump in comments promoting the bill.
Manfred said in a statement that “the Major League Baseball fundamentally supports the right to vote for all Americans and opposes restrictions on the ballot box.”
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In November, Georgia narrowly voted on the 16 Electoral College votes for current President Joe Biden, marking the first time that Peach State has supported a Democratic presidential candidate since Arkansas native Bill Clinton won him in 1992.
Then, in January, Georgia voters elected Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate, resulting in both halves of Congress and the White House painted blue for the first time since President Barack Obama’s first two years in the United States. office.
The Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties in party votes.
Trump falsely claimed that fraud played a role in Georgia’s Democratic bias, and state prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into the former president’s efforts to overturn election results.
There was no evidence of substantial voter irregularities in Georgia, or in any other state, courts at all levels have ruled.
