House Republican calls MLB ‘absolutely pathetic’ for moving All-Star Game

Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter (R) condemned Major League Baseball on Friday for its decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s new voting law, calling the league “absolutely pathetic.” 

“The organization has completely caved to the lies of the Left and America’s pastime has now become a political tool for the liberal mob,” he said in a statement shared by his office. 

“Let’s be clear – Georgia will be losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars because Democrats, including the President of the United States, have been spreading lies about Georgia’s Election Integrity Act,” Carter argued. 

The GOP congressman went on to say, “Georgians have a deep love for the sport, but this move from the MLB is an attack on both our state and on free and fair elections.” 

“Georgians can fight back with their pocketbooks just as I’ll be fighting back in Congress,” he added. 

Carter, a deputy chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was one of several Republicans who slammed the MLB for its decision on Friday. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) chastised the league in his own statement, saying that “culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included.” 

“This attack on our state is the direct result of repeated lies from Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams about a bill that expands access to the ballot box and ensures the integrity of our elections. I will not back down,” Kemp added. 

Democrats and voting rights activists have condemned the new Georgia voting law, which in part requires photo IDs for absentee voting and prohibits non-election workers from providing voters with food and water as they wait in line at polling places. 

President Biden has called the law “Jim Crow in the 21st century,” and Abrams has made similar arguments that the law will disproportionately impact voters of color, who helped elect Democrats in Georgia in record numbers in recent elections. 

Republicans have continued to defend the law, arguing that it is meant to help restore confidence in the Peach State’s electoral system, which was repeatedly called into question by former President Trump and his allies through unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.