MLB is also moving its draft, scheduled for July, out of Atlanta, Manfred said in the statement.
The move comes after President Joe Biden backed moving the game out of Atlanta over the new voting law, which adds a new ID requirement for voters wanting to cast their ballot absentee, shortens the runoff length and in effect hands the election board to the Legislature, among other things. The new law, passed by a Republican-controlled state legislature, came after two Democrats won Senate runoff races that gave Democrats control of the chamber.
Moving an All-Star Game over legislation is not completely unprecedented, with the NBA pulling its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte in 2016 after North Carolina passed a law barring anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Previously, some officials and advocates had also called for MLB to move its 2011 All-Star Game from Arizona over a strict new immigration law, but the game ultimately went forward in Phoenix.
Biden had called the new Georgia law “Jim Crow on steroids” in calling for the game to be moved. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, called Biden’s push to move the All-Star Game “ridiculous.”
MLB’s move also came after pushback from a large group of voices, some of which have called for the Masters golf tournament to move from Augusta, Ga., and for boycotts of Georgia-based companies which hadn’t come out against the new law.
Kemp has gotten pushback over the new law he signed from major Atlanta-based companies, including Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola. On Thursday, he said in a Fox News interview that he wouldn’t give into pressure, saying companies won’t back down because of pressure from activists.
“There is nothing I can do about that,” Kemp said. “But I’m also not running a public corporation. They’ll have to answer to their shareholders. There is a lot of people that work for them and have done business with them that are very upset.”
Kemp did not immediately respond to a request for comment about MLB’s formal move.
Nick Niedzwiadek contributed to this report.
