The MLB All-Star Game will not be played in Atlanta, but quite a few other major sporting events are still scheduled to be held in Georgia this year.
This Thursday, the PGA Tour and Masters Tournament will begin in Augusta, Ga., despite the National Black Justice Coalition calling upon the PGA Tour and Masters Tournament to pull the upcoming event from Augusta National Golf Club in reaction to the recent passing of Georgia’s voter bill. The NBJC also urged professional golfers to boycott playing in Georgia until the bill is repealed: “Professional golf should not reward Georgia’s attacks on democracy and voting rights with the millions of dollars in revenue that the tournament generates and the prestige it brings to the state.”
As of this writing, the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will not be played in Atlanta, but quite a few other major sporting events are still scheduled to be held in Georgia this year — in addition to all of the home games for professional Atlanta teams and Georgia’s collegiate athletic programs:
- 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games in Atlanta
- 2021 SEC Championship Game
- The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
- The PGA Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in September
- The USTA Atlanta Open
In light of Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star game out of Georgia, are the PGA, NCAA, or USTA acquiescing to the new Georgia elections law by not moving their high-profile sporting events to a different site in a different state? Why is it a moral imperative to move the baseball All-Star Game, but the organizers of these other events are under no obligation to move to a different state?
Right now, it appears the only reason there was significant pressure on Major League Baseball but not these other sports organizations or other businesses is that ESPN’s Sage Steele asked President Biden about the MLB All-Star Game, and not the others.
Are the numerous companies that are continuing their current movie and television filming in Georgia — like Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, NBC, National Geographic, Fox, CBS, Amazon, BET, etc. — acquiescing to the Georgia elections law?
CNN is slowly moving 1,200 jobs from CNN Center in downtown Atlanta to the Turner Techwood campus in Atlanta. By keeping its television production operations in the state, is CNN consenting to the Georgia elections law?
Are pop stars and bands who keep their scheduled upcoming concerts effectively accepting the new Georgia elections law?
In the past few months, Minute Maid, ServiceMaster Brands, and soft-drink company Lemon Perfect have chosen to relocate operations to Atlanta. By continuing with their moves into Georgia, are those companies concurring with the new Georgia elections law?
Is there any limiting principle to the concept of boycotting a state because you object to a change to its election laws? Is a willingness to do business in a state become a de facto consent to or approval of its governmental decision-making and its laws?
Is Coca-Cola morally obligated to relocate its operations? Should black-owned Citizens Trust Bank move as well? Are the hundreds of companies that have contracts with the Georgia state government complicit in an unjust system?
Why are certain economic actions in the state of Georgia morally acceptable, but playing the 2021 MLB All-Star Game is not?