The MLB has confirmed its 2021 All-Star extravaganza is heading to Denver, Colorado, after turning its back on Atlanta in a virtue-signaling strop over Georgia’s voting laws – but some say the league’s wokeness has backfired.
The MLB announced the widely expected move on its social media accounts on Tuesday, naming Coors Field in downtown Denver as the new host venue for its July All-Star week.
The step comes after US President Joe Biden was among those to back a shift from Atlanta in the wake of voting law changes in Georgia which had been accused of disenfranchising sections of the electorate.
However, not all observers are in thrall to the decision, with some blasting the MLB for caving to liberal pressure and striking out in the process.
"51% Black Atlanta lost the chance at an economic boom to 9% Black Denver - a place that also has more 'restrictive' voting laws. The Wokesters sure nailed this one," fumed media outlet OutKick.
Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio echoed this by saying the MLB "took the MLB All-Star Game away from a city where 46% of all businesses are minority owned & is about to move it to a city where only 23% of all businesses are minority owned."
"So let me get this straight," said former Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson.
"The MLB is so woke that they took the All Star game from one of the largest minority communities in America and gave it to a rich white community in a less diverse state? A state that has #VoterID laws? Got it!"
With the losses to Atlanta rumored to be around $100 million, the city's mayor had strangely backed the move.
"Just as elections have consequences, so do the actions of those who are elected. Unfortunately, the removal of the MLB All Star game from GA is likely the first of many dominoes to fall, until the unnecessary barriers put in place to restrict access to the ballot box are removed," wrote Keisha Lance Bottoms on Twitter.
But Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who passed the controversial law, said that the MLB had “caved to fear and lies from liberal activists” and promised he “will not be backing down from this fight.”
Also on rt.com Major League Baseball risks losing the last of its politics-weary viewers after moving game over Georgia’s election law