Ted Cruz Says MLB Moving All-Star Game To Denver 'Makes No Sense'
(CBS4)- Major League Baseball moved this year's All-Star Game to the home of the Colorado Rockies, Coors Field, following the passage of new voting laws in Georgia in late March. The decision from MLB was met with backlash from Republicans including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who declined to throw out the first pitch at the Rangers home opener because of what he called a "false narrative" from the league. One of the senators from Abbott's state, Sen. Ted Cruz, aired his displeasure with the move on Fox News on Wednesday.
In a segment titled "The Rise of Woke Corporatism", Cruz gave a lengthy response to what he perceives is the continued bowing of CEOs to what he termed the "woke left." In his response, Cruz pointed to the difference in demographics between Denver and Atlanta as evidence of the what he says is the absurdity of MLB's reasoning.
"We saw Delta Air Lines do this and give in Atlanta in a way that was shameful. We saw Coca Cola do it. We saw, I think most disturbingly, Major League Baseball, yank the All-Star game out of Atlanta and move it to Denver. I have to say it really does illustrate how absurd and unconnected to substance these moves are," Cruz said. "Atlanta is 51% African American, they moved it to Denver, a city that is 9% African American, because they're such woke social justice warriors that they're going to take $100 million out of the pockets of the African American small businesses and workers in Atlanta. It makes no sense. It's dangerous and I do think there is a strong backlash that is building."
Truist Park, the home of the Braves and original host to this year's game, is located in Cobb County about 14 miles outside of downtown Atlanta. In the most recent census data, Cobb County was found to be 62.4 White and 28.8 percent Black.
In its statement announcing the move, MLB said that the reason it had decided to remove the game from Georgia is because the new voting laws were too restrictive and in opposition to what the league stands for.
"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game's unwavering support."
Democrats and voting rights groups have said that the Georgia law will "disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color." President Joe Biden called the legislation "outrageous" and "an atrocity" and urged Congress to enact its own legislation to bolster voting rights across the nation in response.
The 2021 MLB All-Star Game is set for Tuesday, July 13 at Coors Field.
