Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, announced Monday afternoon that he will not throw the first pitch at the opening start of the Texas Rangers, as scheduled, due to the response of Major League Baseball to the recently adopted voting laws in Georgia.
“I was looking forward to throwing the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home game until @MLB adopted what turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia’s electoral law reforms. It’s a shame that American entertainment is influenced by partisan politics. , “the Republican governor posted on Twitter.
In an additional statement, Abbott said he would not “attend an MLB event and the state will not seek to host the All-Star Game or any other MLB special events.”
On Friday, MLB announced that this summer’s All-Star game was moved from Atlanta in response to a new law in Georgia that has civil rights groups concerned about its potential to restrict access to voting for people of color.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has made the decision to move the game and All-Star events, along with the Atlanta amateur draft, after talks with major individual leagues and the Players Alliance, a black players organization formed after George Floyd’s death last year.
Last month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law with a comprehensive, Republican-sponsored bill that includes new postal voting restrictions and increased legislative control over the conduct of elections. The bill, which also prohibits volunteers from distributing food and water to voters waiting in line, was completed on March 25, about 15 miles from Braves Stadium, Truist Park.
The new voting law came after the first Democratic victories in Georgia’s presidential and Senate elections in a generation, which sparked repeated unproven claims by former President Donald Trump that the state election was fraudulent. Proponents of the new law say it only ensures the integrity of elections and eliminates potential fraud, while critics have described it as a tactic to suppress voters that would make it more difficult for minorities, especially blacks, to vote, citing how it reduces the vote. access to democratic-leaning urban communities.
In his statement Monday, Abbott condemned MLB for “perpetuating false political narratives.”
After winning 1-2 in an opening road series of the season against the Kansas City Royals, the Rangers will return to full capacity at Globe Life Field for the opening home game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday afternoon.
Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez was used in this report.