Sen. Marco Rubio asks MLB commissioner if he would drop Augusta National Golf Club membership
The senator drafted the letter asking Rob Manfred if he would relinquish his membership after the MLB moved the All-Star Game from Atlanta.
www.augustachronicle.com
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday asking if the baseball leader would be relinquishing his personal membership to the Augusta National Golf Club because the club was located in Georgia.
The letter was in response to the MLB pulling the All-Star Game out of Atlanta over opposition to the recently signed voting laws by Georgia legislators. The laws were met with widespread opposition from Georgia Democrats and has raised responses from major Georgia brands such as Delta and Coca-Cola.
“Taking the All-Star game out of Georgia is an easy way to signal virtues without significant financial fallout. But speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party would involve a significant loss of revenue and being closed out of a lucrative market," Rubio's letter to Manfred said.
“I am under no illusion that Major League Baseball will sacrifice business revenue on behalf of its alleged corporate values. Similarly, I am under no illusion you intend to resign as a member from Augusta National Golf Club. To do so would require a personal sacrifice, as opposed to the woke corporate virtue signaling of moving the All Star Game from Atlanta.”
The move, which was announced by the MLB last week, was met with mixed responses from various Georgia figures, including Gov. Brian Kemp, who referred to the decision as one made on "fear."
"Georgians - and all Americans - should fully understand what the MLB's knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included. If the left doesn’t agree with you, facts and the truth do not matter," he said in a Twitter post.
Kemp also blamed the decision by the MLB on "repeated lies" by President Joe Biden and his 2018 gubernatorial opponent Stacey Abrams.
Abrams made a statement on Friday, saying that "Republicans who passed and defended Senate Bill 202 did so knowing the economic risks to our state" and that they "prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of all Georgians."
She added that she was disappointed by the MLB's decision to move the All-Star Game from Atlanta, but she commended the players and people in leadership with the MLB for speaking out.
"As I have stated, I respect boycotts, although I don't want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs. Georgians targeted by voter suppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We should not abandon the victims of GOP malice and lies - we must stand together."
In their own statement on Twitter, the Atlanta Braves said they were "disappointed" by Major League Baseball's decision and they had hoped they could have used the city of Atlanta "as a platform to enhance the discussion (on equal voting opportunities)."
The voting law, titled SB2020, was signed into law by Kemp last week and raised concerns among Democrats that changes to the absentee ballot and early voting laws would lead to increased voter suppression.
SB 202.:In Georgia, voter suppression has always been a concern for Black voters
The bill replaces the controversial signature match system with an ID requirement for absentee ballots. Voters must use their driver’s license, state ID, voter card, or last four digits of their social security number to verify who they are when returning the ballot.
SB 202 also calls for counties to have increased early voting access. Counties must have two early voting periods on Saturday. Sunday early voting will be optional with it taking place between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the option to extend hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
See Sen. Rubio's full letter to Manfred below:
