Tag: All-Star game

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MLB Announces All-Star Game Moved To Colorado

Logo for Major League Baseball

Logo for Major League Baseball Major League Baseball has announced it will hold its annual All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado, after Georgia changed its voting laws in March which could potentially restrict voting access for people of color. Of course, MLB has the right to hold its game anywhere it wants in an environment that it deems appropriate.

But Republicans are still mad at MLB for pulling its game from the Peach State, so they are now trying to compare Georgia’s new voting laws to those in Colorado. One issue Repubs tried to press today was that Georgia now allows for 17 early voting days while Colorado has 15 early voting days. They also point to the idea that Colorado has a voter ID requirement as does Georgia.

But… it’s not that simple. Colorado’s voter ID law for in-person voting (sometimes referred to as “non-strict”) allows for a variety of IDs including ones without photos. If voters don’t have ID on them at the time of voting, they can cast a provisional ballot and elections officials are charged with verifying their eligibility. But Georgia’s in-person ID requirement is a “strict” law, requiring photo ID. And if a voter doesn’t have one with them at the polls, they can cast a provisional ballot, but the voter has to show a photo ID at a county registrar’s office within three days. More importantly, though, Colorado votes almost universally via mail-in ballot. All registered voters there receive an absentee ballot and almost 99% of voters there cast their votes via mail. So, the in-person ID requirement – and the number of early in-person voting days – is practically moot since the vast majority of ballots are cast by mail. Also, as White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted today when asked about the “comparisons” by Fox News’s Peter Doocy, Colorado allows citizens to register to vote on election days which Georgia does not.

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MLB Pulls All-Star Game From Georgia Over Voting Law

Major League Baseball has pulled its All-Star game from Georgia over the state's recent voter suppression law Major League Baseball is making it known the organization is NOT having Georgia’s new voter suppression law. From the New York Times:

In a firm rebuke of Georgia’s new elections law, Major League Baseball said Friday that it had abandoned its plan to play this summer’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

The decision by the baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, came after days of pressure from civil rights groups and the Major League Baseball Players Association.

In a statement, Manfred said that after conversations with teams, players, former stars and players union officials he had concluded that “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”

Earlier this week, President Biden voiced his support for MLB moving the midsummer showcase in light of the new voting law’s disproportionate impact on people of color.

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NBA Announces New Orleans Will Host 2017 All-Star Game

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory

The NBA has announced that the 2017 All-Star Game will be held in New Orleans after moving the event from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the aftermath of that state’s discriminatory, anti-LGBT legislation known as HB2.

Via the AP:

New Orleans, announced Friday as the new location of the game, replaces Charlotte, which was set to host the game until the NBA decided last month to move it elsewhere.

Unlike several other Southern states, Louisiana has not been swept up in legislative efforts to pass laws similar to that in North Carolina — a fact Gov. John Bel Edwards has touted while lobbying the NBA to bring its All-Star weekend to New Orleans.

“We embrace our rich cultural heritage and see our diversity as a virtue,” Edwards wrote in a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in late July. “Should the NBA choose to bring the All-Star Game back to New Orleans in 2017, it will strongly reaffirm its commitment to communities that value fairness and inclusion.”

The Human Rights Campaign responds:

“By moving the 2017 All-Star Game to New Orleans, the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver have sent a clear message to lawmakers in North Carolina and across the country that discrimination against LGBTQ people has consequences and will not be tolerated,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.

“New Orleans’ explicit LGBTQ non-discrimination protections will ensure all NBA employees, players, and fans who participate in the All-Star Game are protected from discrimination.

“Governor Pat McCrory and state lawmakers should use this as an opportunity to halt their assault on the people, reputation, and economy of North Carolina, and work toward replacing HB2 with commonsense non-discrimination protections. We look forward to the day when all North Carolinians can live their lives free from discrimination, and Charlotte is able to welcome back the All-Star Game.”

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory continues to claim HB2 has had no economic impact on his state even as dozens of conventions and events have pulled out of North Carolina over the divisive legislation costing the state untold millions of dollars.

McCrory currently trails his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Roy Cooper by 7 points in the latest NBC News poll.

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NBA Announces No 2017 All-Star Game For North Carolina Due To Anti-LGBT Law HB2

Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical is reporting that the NBA will soon announce that the 2017 All-Stars game will be pulled from North Carolina over it’s hateful anti-LGBT legislation, HB2.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver had threatened to move All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte unless a discriminatory North Carolina law aimed at the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was changed – and time to do so has run out because of the logistics and planning the NBA needs to run its marquee midseason event, league sources said.

The issue is centered on North Carolina’s House Bill 2, a law that mandates transgender people use public restrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. The law also omits LGBT people from North Carolina’s anti-discrimination protections, forbids local governments from widening LGBT protections and excludes all forms of workplace discrimination lawsuits from North Carolina state courts.

New Orleans, which last hosted an All-Star game in 2014, now looks to be the leading contender to host the event.

Here’s the official notice from the NBA:

The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019. Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change. We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view.

Our week-long schedule of All-Star events and activities is intended to be a global celebration of basketball, our league, and the values for which we stand, and to bring together all members of the NBA community – current and former players, league and team officials, business partners, and fans. While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2.

We are particularly mindful of the impact of this decision on our fans in North Carolina, who are among the most passionate in our league. It is also important to stress that the City of Charlotte and the Hornets organization have sought to provide an inclusive environment and that the Hornets will continue to ensure that all patrons – including members of the LGBT community – feel welcome while attending games and events in their arena.

We look forward to re-starting plans for our All-Star festivities in Charlotte for 2019 provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter. The NBA will make an announcement on the new location of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in the coming weeks.

The Human Rights Campaign chimes in with praise:

Today the NBA and Commissioner Silver sent a clear message that they won’t stand for discrimination against LGBTQ employees, players or fans.

The NBA repeatedly warned state lawmakers that their hateful HB2 law created an inhospitable environment for their 2017 All-Star Game and other events.

Nevertheless, Governor McCrory, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore doubled down on HB2 and refused to undo their discriminatory and costly error in judgment.

Every day that HB2 remains on the books, people across North Carolina are at risk of real harm.

We appreciate the leadership of the NBA in standing up for equality and call once again on lawmakers to repeal this vile HB2 law.