After Major League Baseball (MLB) pulled its All-Star Game out of Georgia over new voter laws, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) proposed a bill Wednesday to subject the organization to antitrust laws. The “Competition in Professional Baseball Act” would repeal Section 27 of the Clayton Act.
MLB parroted the outcry over Georgia’s new voter ID laws. The organization claimed that voter ID requirements disproportionately disenfranchise Black individuals, and therefore are inherently racist policies.
Blackburn introduced the bill alongside Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Josh Hawley (R-NE).
In a press release, Blackburn explained that MLB shouldn’t receive government benefits since they oppose basic safeguards of their own country while raking in revenue from totalitarian regimes.
“A corporation that happily does business with the communist regimes in Cuba and China but caves to woke CEOs who want to punish states with voter ID does not deserve any special immunities in antitrust law,” said Blackburn.
In the U.S. House, Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and over 20 cosponsors introduced companion legislation to Blackburn’s bill.
MLB’s move will reportedly cost Cobb County an estimated net loss of $100 million in revenue.
The All-Star Game will now take place in Colorado; as The Tennessee Star reported, Colorado also has certain voting regulations, including voter ID.
MLB itself is no exception to photo ID requirements. Certain MLB teams also mandate photo ID in certain situations. As The Star pointed out, fans must present their ID in order to pick up tickets from Will Call.
MLB was one of the latest in a chain reaction of major corporations balking at Georgia’s reforms to voter ID law – though none spoke out prior to the bill’s passage. Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines were aboard the bandwagon as well.
Like MLB, both corporations require photo ID. Coca-Cola requires valid ID for admittance to annual shareholder meetings, and the sale of its newly-launched alcoholic beverage will undoubtedly require ID. Delta Airlines requires photo ID to board their aircraft.
In response to the outcry from those corporations the Georgia House attempted to take away Delta’s tax break, which would’ve dealt a $35 million blow to the airline carrier. However, as The Star reported, the Georgia Senate didn’t have an opportunity to vote on the measure. That means Delta’s tax credit will remain until next year’s session.
While MLB and others have condemned Georgia’s voter ID laws, others said they didn’t go far enough. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was one such critic.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
