Politics and sports have been mistakenly intertwined for years. MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred’s announcement that the league awarded the 2025 All-Star Game to the Atlanta Braves serves to push politics out of baseball. This announcement comes four years after moving the game from Truist Park to Denver’s Coors Field over objections to changes in Georgia’s voting rights laws. People are allowed to disagree. These disagreements should not take over the game.

Atlanta was initially chosen to host the 2021 All-Star Game and festivities back in May 2019. However, MLB abruptly shifted gears in April 2021, just three months ahead of the event, relocating it to Coors Field. This sudden move sparked widespread criticism and support alike, with detractors arguing vehemently against Georgia’s perceived restrictive voting laws. Manfred’s decision to pull the plug on Atlanta’s hosting duties came after conversations with individual players and the Players Alliance, a coalition of black athletes catalyzed by George Floyd’s death in 2020.