A congressman said he is planning to introduce legislation to remove an antitrust exemption for Major League Baseball in light of its decision to move its All-Star Game and 2021 draft out of Georgia in protest of the state’s new Republican voting law.
Rep. Jeff Duncan made the announcement on Friday afternoon, soon after the MLB said it would be moving the events out of Atlanta.
“In light of @MLB’s stance to undermine election integrity laws, I have instructed my staff to begin drafting legislation to remove Major League Baseball’s federal antitrust exception,” the South Carolina Republican said. “An overwhelming bipartisan majority of Americans support requiring an ID to vote, and any organization that abuses its power to oppose secure elections deserves increased scrutiny under the law.”
Duncan’s push came after Donald Trump Jr. called on Republicans in Congress to “immediately move to repeal” the exemption. “Grow some balls and fight fire with fire,” he added over Twitter.
MLB TO MOVE ALL-STAR GAME AND DRAFT OUT OF GEORGIA IN VOTING LAW PROTEST
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also weighed in on the matter, asking the GOP why it is “still listening to these woke corporate hypocrites on taxes, regulations & anti-trust.”
“Dear GOP: @MLB caves to pressure & moves draft & #AllStarGame out of Georgia on the same week they announce a deal with a company backed by the genocidal Communist Party of #China,” he said in what appears to be a reference to the MLB signing a three-year contract with a Chinese company to extend its broadcasting rights.
The antitrust exemption has been in place since 1922, when the Supreme Court ruled that antitrust law does not apply to the MLB because baseball is not considered interstate commerce. Other professional sports like the National Football League are not subject to the same exemption.
The MLB’s decision to boycott Georgia comes as other corporations across the state and country have come under pressure from Democrats and activist groups to criticize the new voting law, which among other things, requires people to have a valid ID when casting absentee ballots.
Some of the corporations that have issued statements criticizing the legislation have faced blowback from Republicans, who say that the law is being misrepresented by Democrats and that businesses are being manipulated into being used as political cudgels.
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Republicans in the Georgia House even passed an amendment revoking a tax break on jet fuel for Delta after its CEO Ed Bastian called the law “unacceptable” in a memo to employees and told them that it “does not match Delta’s values.”
In announcing the decision to relocate outside Georgia, MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said that moving the events is “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport.”
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” he said.
