Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston has issued a letter to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Robert Manfred to bring a future All-Star game to Truist Park.
The text of the letter:
July 6, 2022
Commissioner Robert D. Manfred
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020Commissioner Manfred:
In a few weeks, the 2022 MLB All-Star Game will take place in Los Angeles. As this event approaches, I am reminded that you unjustly deprived the State of Georgia of the opportunity to host the 2021 All-Star Game in reprisal for our work to make voting more accessible and secure through Georgia’s Election Integrity Act (Senate Bill 202).
I will assume that your hasty decision was not intentionally malicious but rather was based on the false and misleading information circulated by liberal politicians and special interest groups at the time. You will recall that the Wall Street Journal wrote that the President Biden’s claims about SB 202 were “malarkey.”
In criticizing Stacey Abrams’ claims about the bill, the WSJ wrote “Georgia has had record voter numbers in recent years, including outstanding black turnout, and these proposals won’t reverse that.” Having just completed a statewide primary election in May under the provisions of SB 202, we can report there was record early-voting turnout with no credible claims of irregularities and that the WSJ was correct.
As our own Atlanta Braves said, “Unfortunately, businesses, employees and fans in Georgia are the victims of [your] decision.” Some estimates placed the economic impact of an All-Star game played in Atlanta at approximately $100 million. That’s a lot of food taken off the tables of families in Georgia. I would hope that this mistake would be corrected and some of the economic damage caused by your decision can be ameliorated.
As such, I call on you to award a future MLB All-Star Game to be played at Truist Park in the coming years. The sooner this announcement is made, the quicker we can all put this unfortunate incident behind us.
Thank you for your expeditious consideration, and I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
David Ralston
Speaker of the House