Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves criticized the league’s decision to move its 2021 All-Star Game from Georgia in a Friday statement.
The team’s statement comes hours after MLB announced the game’s location change, which MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said is in direct response to a sweeping bill that would tighten voting restrictions signed into law in Georgia last month.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” Manfred said.
In a statement posted to Twitter, the Braves expressed that while the team continues to “stress the importance” of equal voting opportunities, it is sad that Atlanta fans will not be able to experience the event.
The team expressed that it was “deeply disappointed” by the news that the league’s summer exhibition game would be moved out of Georgia following the state’s passage of a restrictive voting bill.
“This was neither our decision nor our recommendation,” the statement read. “Businesses, employees and fans and in Georgia are the victims of this decision.”
The Atlanta Braves said it hoped to use the All-Star Game as a platform to discuss the impacts of the voting bill and the importance of equal voting rights.
“Our city has always been known as a unifier in divided times and we will miss the opportunity to address issues that are important to our community,” the team said in the statement.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) also slammed the move, accusing MLB of caving to “fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies.”