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MLB moves All-Star game in response to GA voter laws (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter The General
- Start date
Shula-holic
Footballguy
They have everything to do with it. It's the biggest financial windfall for that ballpark since its inception. They promoted getting an all star game to all the corporate clients and club holders. They've collected monies from all their fans and sponsors for it. The team already has massive credits with these same folks for a cancelled 2020 season with no fans and now they have to ask these supporters for more understanding with their money. I can tell you that the all star package with extra seating was around an average of $2,500 per season seat in the club, it may be a little higher because I have a mix of stuff there so just doing the rough math. That includes club seats for all ASG events, extra tickets, etc. That doesn't get into ads, sponsorships, etc. Just to be clear, the host team is getting that ticket revenue. Their rights holders get rights to those seats, not MLB. It's kind of MLB's way of rewarding teams for fleecing cities for new stadiums. Of course now, MLB is going to cut a deal with a new city to dip some revenue I'm sure.
I think your second statement is where left and right disagree. I don't want politics in my sports. I really didn't want Trump at the Bama/LSU game a couple years ago either. It's not a sides thing to me. There's just a time to get away from that and enjoy yourself or take your family without politics being involved.
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Shula-holic
Footballguy
The NBA became unwatchable to me when the whole superteam phase started. I did watch some of the one Finals where Lebron took a bunch of stiffs and beat the Warriors by himself but other than that I really haven't watched much. When one team has a team of all stars against the Timberwolves or Pistons, how compelling is it?
bigmarc27
Footballguy
I’ll defer to you on the first part.
On the second part, I’d be fine with separation of sport and state, but we’re well past that. Aside from the obvious stuff like the olympics, there’s military and flag celebrations at every single game. They’ve been intertwined since inception, and there’s really no way to undo that at this point.
The General
Footballguy
That the NBA may suck is another thing (playoff basketball with 2 great teams is some of the best stuff to watch IMO) my point was people who get fired up and ban sports because the league makes a political statement are kind of SOL at this point.
MMA and bowling maybe?
Shula-holic
Footballguy
I guess I never saw the flag at games as political. I thought it was our flag, not the left, right, middle, or whoever is in power. To be honest, it's kind of sad to me if we have to view it that way today.
BladeRunner
Footballguy
Shula-holic
Footballguy
Probably. I know people who won't watch for various reasons. But if we are going to say it's ok to pressure leagues or companies to take some kind of stand then I can't fault people for taking one against them. Like Tim said earlier, conservatives aren't the best at that though so it's disorganized and sporadic at best. Mostly just individuals making personal decisions.
bigmarc27
Footballguy
It depends how the flag is used, like anything. It can be innocuous, or it can be held by 500 children while stealth bombers fly over stadiums in a military-style parade.
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The General
Footballguy
I need to read about this but why is this water to people in line a thing? Is this supposed to be some big incentive or something? One people waiting in line is crazy, why this isn't mail-in is so bizarre. Two if you are in line why can't you have rules in place to make this possible.
So weird.
So weird.
The General
Footballguy
Sure. Ban a sport all you want. You are just not going to have much to watch.
Furthermore if every sport and tons of private companies, like say NIKE, have taken these positions you don't agree with perhaps it's time to reevaluate your positions
bigmarc27
Footballguy
Essentially the bill is forcing people to vote in-person. Inner city polling places have longer lines. The water is more symbolic than anything - I don’t think anyone cares they’re not getting water, it’s just that it’s an added “we’re going to make this as inconvenient and cumbersome as possible for you” move.
The General
Footballguy
Thanks. This is pretty much what I figured. I'm guessing less voting areas as well.
Vote by mail not being a thing everywhere is insane. Washington has this and is easy, convenient. We have the blueprints we can give them to everyone.
The person who heads this up in our state is even a :gasp: REPUBLICAN. I voted for her.
Shula-holic
Footballguy
Has this happened somewhere? I mean there are jet flyovers at a lot of college football games after the anthem and I could live without that for other reasons but I don't really see it in that light.
Ramblin Wreck
Footballguy
Great point. Let's support abusing children working in sweatshops for pennies. To hell with minimum wage, right?Sure. Ban a sport all you want. You are just not going to have much to watch.
Furthermore if every sport and tons of private companies, like say NIKE, have taken these positions you don't agree with perhaps it's time to reevaluate your positions
bigmarc27
Footballguy
Voting by mail worked 100% fine here as well. Our SoS even admitted as much, but let’s fix things when they’re not broken.
The General
Footballguy
I'm guessing the Colin Kaepernick commercial had 10 times the "I'm throwing out my Air Max's" than sweatshops.
Ramblin Wreck
Footballguy
You said people should re-evaluate their positions because of Nike. I assume you support Nike and all they do?
The General
Footballguy
BigJim®
Footballguy
So that people focus on that red herring and ignore other components of the bill, such as the ability to replace election officials who won’t play along with the 2024 big lie.
sho nuff
Footballguy
Shula-holic
Footballguy
Gary Sheffield Jr is an awesome follow on Twitter BTW.
https://twitter.com/GarysheffieldJr/status/1378173880964165640
https://twitter.com/GarysheffieldJr/status/1378173880964165640
NorvilleBarnes
Footballguy
SEND US THE ALL STAR GAME AND WE'LL SERVE FREE COCA COLA AND CRACKERJACK TO VOTERS WAITING IN LINE!
quick-hands
Footballguy
Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
SB202 protects polling locations from electioneering by private individuals. Within 150 feet of the precinct, election officials may provide water at stations. Beyond 150 feet, as previous Georgia law allowed, private individuals may campaign and provide food and water for voters.
MacCallum explained details of the law, saying there is a distinction between partisan individuals handing out food or water, compared to nonpartisan election officials, who are still allowed to do so.
"You can't do electioneering," she said. "So, you can't do 'Richard Fowler for Congress' on the water bottle within 150 feet [of the poll]. That's always been the rule."
fox
rockaction
Footballguy
Boycotts never work. Just like embargos don't work. They only make the populace and participants suffer.
This is a terrible move by the MLBPA, and as Shula-holic alluded to in a post in an earlier thread, is just to gain sympathies on the left for their new CBA, which is likely to end in a work stoppage, according to a ton of people in the know.
The intermingling of players' associations and politics is the real trouble here. Individual athletic conscience is one thing. I, for one, won't placate the athletes, but I am willing to give them due consideration. I'll just stop watching. My life goes on if the sport ends, actually. I don't care one way or another. But I'd rather have appropriate laws (not that Georgia's voting laws are appropriate) than be dictated to by a new special interest group -- the players' associations. I don't need that. I don't care how much industry revolves around it -- I just won't watch. Baseball lost me long ago, as it lost a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of viewers in both 1994 due to the strike and then in the 2010s because of pace of play and removal of steroids from the sport which made for a boring game. It's asphyxiating as we speak. So let 'em move and rot.
jamny
Footballguy
Courtjester
The Town Drunk
So we are going to move the All-Star game out of the city and punish small businesses and stadium workers just to make a point? Guess what--the Republican politicians won't be impacted. The small guy (many of whom will be of color) will get screwed and lose money. How does this make a statement of anything? This is theatrics at best and hurts many. many people.
Just cutting off your nose to spite your face is what this is.
Just cutting off your nose to spite your face is what this is.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Republicans get mad at Atlanta for voting blue and swinging both the Presidency and Senate.
Republicans punish Atlanta by enacting new voting laws that will suppress the vote in the area.
MLB responds by further punishing the Atlanta area by moving the ASG and removing revenue that would have gone into the area.
Genius.
Republicans punish Atlanta by enacting new voting laws that will suppress the vote in the area.
MLB responds by further punishing the Atlanta area by moving the ASG and removing revenue that would have gone into the area.
Genius.
Sea Duck
Footballguy
SB 202 doesn't just ban electioneers from providing water -- it bans ANYONE from providing water within 25 feet of a voter standing in line.SB202 protects polling locations from electioneering by private individuals. Within 150 feet of the precinct, election officials may provide water at stations. Beyond 150 feet, as previous Georgia law allowed, private individuals may campaign and provide food and water for voters.
MacCallum explained details of the law, saying there is a distinction between partisan individuals handing out food or water, compared to nonpartisan election officials, who are still allowed to do so.
"You can't do electioneering," she said. "So, you can't do 'Richard Fowler for Congress' on the water bottle within 150 feet [of the poll]. That's always been the rule."
fox
The fact that the law says that election officials "may" provide water stations is a nothing more than a red herring. "May" and "will" are not synonyms.
FairWarning
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
Delta was for a lot of the changes. When the heat was turned up, the fake corporate outrage appeared. As a stockholder, I want my corporations to make me money, not cave in to woke pressure at every turn.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I can guarantee you the “corporate outrage” isn’t fake. I can also guarantee you these corporations are out to make money and are cutthroat and ruthless at times. They want to attract top talent and retain top talent. Being what some people perceive as “good corporate citizens” allows them to do that.
djmich
Footballguy
How do you guarantee that corporate outrage is not fake? You look Ed Bastian in the eye or something?
GordonGekko
Footballguy
I agree with this sentiment - I want my sports and my politics in completely separate arenas. Other people are going to feel much differently.
One of the struggles for the major sports is their player base is young. Also many come from situations where they aren't getting a lot of real guidance and most don't hear the word "No" very often. They exist in very sheltered situations with huge platforms and often speak on issues under which they have no actual background.
LeBron James talked quite a bit about Jacob Blake, how the police should have done this and that differently. If I want an understanding of the basic law enforcement use of force continuum and effective defensive tactics and compliance/submission techniques, I'm not going to him as an expert. If I want to figure out how to stop Steph Curry from beating me in the 3rd quarter of some game, then that's a different story.
Someone like Adam Silver is in a complicated position. He clearly doesn't want politics in the NBA, but he has no choice. The majority of his player base are young black Americans. If he says No or the owners say No, then they get cancelled. They get called racists and blood will be demanded. This is an issue of identity politics as leverage, not one of actual improving race relations in America.
There is nothing more ridiculous to me than the NBA and WNBA stopping play for Jacob Blake. The guy sexually assaulted a woman and had a warrant out for his arrest for it. The WNBA literally put his name on T shirts and stopped playing games over him. A league that has been losing money for 20 years straight and struggles to get even a thousand fans average a night and struggle to get female fans/viewers.
Think about the self inflicted damage created by the NBA over woke cancel culture identity politics and SJW madness
- They lose a massive number of fans in China ( i.e. the Morey Free Hong Kong mess)
- They lose a massive number of female fans ( i.e. backing Jacob Blake, I cannot describe to you the level of stupidity here. I can spin just about any media narrative but this one is indefensible )
- They lose a massive number of Jewish fans (i.e. LeBron James and others saying and implying things that are Anti-Semetic in nature)
- They lose a massive number of fans with backgrounds or family in law enforcement/military ( i.e. refusing the anthem, Defund The Police, things said about rioting/looting, wannabe commentators on law enforcement public policy, etc)
- They lose a massive number of Conservative/Republican fans (i.e. even Michael Jordan acknowledged that Republicans buy shoes too. The league leans left very hard and they don't try to hide it)
- They lose a large number of older fans ( i.e the push to make the game more accessible to the digital age, the constant political talk during games and before/after games and blazed on every jersey and on the court and in every player interview)
- They lose a massive number of in person fans ( i.e. cost of the game, reality of purchasing power of many sports fans, loss of interest from many younger kids who want to play video games instead, etc, etc)
- They lose casual fans ( i.e. being linked to having shoes and jerseys made in concentration camps. When people believe child slave labor is stitching together your shoes, there's a problem. And when that kid grows up, to be either forcibly sterilized, tortured, executed, raped, sold into sexual slavery or used for organ harvesting by a nation who seems like it will go to war with the US at any moment)
TRUNCATED FOR LENGTH**
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Bucsfan5493
Footballguy
The Braves moved out to the suburbs a couple of years ago and it takes at minimum 30 minutes to get from downtown to the stadium now (I literally did this drive yesterday on my way to get my 2nd COVID dose). The stadium is also located in a mixed use complex where there’s multiple hotels, shopping places, restaurants and bars so I’d imagine most people would stay there. The mixed use complex is mainly bigger chains so I don’t think it will be hurting the small guy much at all.
GordonGekko
Footballguy
*****
The level of fan loss is staggering. And much of this is self inflicted. Lots of fans just want an escape. It doesn't make them bad people for wanting this. You just can't keep driving politics in every facet of every game and then show utter tone deaf hypocrisy and not have people tune out. What's worse is the pandemic only made this all much harder and people who clean the stadiums, who do the concessions, who do the parking, who clean the bathrooms, who cook the food - they are all suffering and many of these athletes look like they just don't give a flying ####.
On an aside, I said this when the PSF was created, I get why this section exists and I participate in it, but any business that has any kind of political imprint of any kind associated with it is dancing with Kryptonite. I agree with the CEO of Coinbase - Politics and business ( that has nothing to do with politics) are better left separated. As a matter of survival if nothing else.
I can't speak for anyone else, as a small business owner, and I run several companies, I have zero politics policy. Talking about it here and with maybe a few people I've known an extremely long time is the extent of it. My employees know I won't tolerate it. I pay everyone well, more than average, and no one has lost their job during the pandemic. No one has taken a paycut. They know I will never let my people or their children go hungry. Of course since I carry the "old school hammer fist laying grandfather" vibe, I have some small advantage over other business owners.
MLB has been losing fans and struggling with fan engagement for a while now. This is going to backfire but I can see how some in MLB, probably the same folks who think the Astros cheating didn't massacre the image of the game, will see this as a strong shock marketing move to try to get new younger fans. But no one says to themselves, "Wow, MLB is so woke, I'm going to love baseball today because of it"
The level of fan loss is staggering. And much of this is self inflicted. Lots of fans just want an escape. It doesn't make them bad people for wanting this. You just can't keep driving politics in every facet of every game and then show utter tone deaf hypocrisy and not have people tune out. What's worse is the pandemic only made this all much harder and people who clean the stadiums, who do the concessions, who do the parking, who clean the bathrooms, who cook the food - they are all suffering and many of these athletes look like they just don't give a flying ####.
On an aside, I said this when the PSF was created, I get why this section exists and I participate in it, but any business that has any kind of political imprint of any kind associated with it is dancing with Kryptonite. I agree with the CEO of Coinbase - Politics and business ( that has nothing to do with politics) are better left separated. As a matter of survival if nothing else.
I can't speak for anyone else, as a small business owner, and I run several companies, I have zero politics policy. Talking about it here and with maybe a few people I've known an extremely long time is the extent of it. My employees know I won't tolerate it. I pay everyone well, more than average, and no one has lost their job during the pandemic. No one has taken a paycut. They know I will never let my people or their children go hungry. Of course since I carry the "old school hammer fist laying grandfather" vibe, I have some small advantage over other business owners.
MLB has been losing fans and struggling with fan engagement for a while now. This is going to backfire but I can see how some in MLB, probably the same folks who think the Astros cheating didn't massacre the image of the game, will see this as a strong shock marketing move to try to get new younger fans. But no one says to themselves, "Wow, MLB is so woke, I'm going to love baseball today because of it"
AAABatteries
Footballguy
knowledge dropper
Footballguy
djmich
Footballguy
It reminds me of Bush saying he spent time with Putin and looked into his soul.
There is no CEO that is going to contradict their public corporate stance in a private setting and not think that may get out.
I don’t doubt you know Ed Bastian...do you know him well enough that he’d risk his job to tell you his private thoughts?
Bucsfan5493
Footballguy
I’m honestly not sure. I moved down here in 2018 which was a year or two after they had already moved. Maybe @AAABatteriescould provide more context? Believe he’s been in the ATL area for a while.
supermike80
Footballguy
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Just quoting this part, but you are making some great points here. People get mad nowadays when you say you want your sports and politics separated, but I am with ya. I watch games to relax and hopefully get a breather from life, not to be browbeaten by politics and whatever the latest social message is that Twitter is angry about.
I get why MLB did this, and in spirit it can certainly be seen as admirable, but it feels like a "cutting off my nose to spite my face" situation. They are punishing the GA community by doing this, while irking a lot of the country who isn't going to watch baseball anymore. I haven't watched much baseball, outside of some playoffs every year, since the mid 10's, so this doesn't move the needle for me either way, and I suspect that if I was still a regular watcher, I would keep watching, but in today's climate, many are ready to jump ship at a moment's notice. We've already seen it with the NBA, and MLB is now going to follow suit, all to appease a woke, enlightened crowd that likely wouldn't have their back if push came to shove anyway. It boggles the mind. The NHL has it right, as they keep it all out of their sport, and of course got vilified by the media for not shutting down like the NBA and WNBA in the name of Jacob Blake and eventually were guilted into following suit for a few days.
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djmich
Footballguy
Yes, although the NHL has done some woke campaigns I haven’t seen anything silly like taking positions on individual state laws. Yet
Bucsfan5493
Footballguy
Reading up some more on this bill (source here)... seems pretty clear to me that Republicans are trying to make it harder for people to vote. A couple of notable highlights that I haven’t seen posted here that I’ve come across:
What would be the reasoning for this other than making it harder for people to vote?
Cutting the number of drop off boxes by 75% and no longer making it 24/7 drop off in the main Democratic areas... I mean, does this really even need an explanation?
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Ghost Rider
Footballguy
My personal feeling there is that the NHL wants to stay out of it, but does enough window dressing to demonstrate that they care about these matters, while keeping it low key and small enough to not let it infiltrate their sport. Let's hope they keep it that way. I am watching hockey no matter what, but hope it stays mostly free of this stuff.
And to circle back to the Kevin Durant thing which was brought up early in this thread, if Luka Doncic (a white player) got into a Twitter DM fight with a 4th rate black actor and used the offensive language he did at that actor, he would get hammered by the league with a massive fine and likely many games while many would likely call for his banning from the league, but in this case Kevin Durant (a black player) got into a Twitter DM fight with a 4th rate white actor (Rappaport) and used offensive language, and what did he get? A mild scolding at worst from the media, with many of them calling Rappaport out more for outing the DM's to the public, and a slap on the wrist from the league (50K and no games). Can you imagine if the NBA had hammered Durant for this? The players would likely stand together and protest and threaten to sit out games again. I am for players have more say-so in sports when it comes to contracts and whatnot (I hate how players are basically forced to stay with the teams that drafted them for years), but NBA players have gotten drunk with power, and Silver is enabling them at every turn. Silver was probably afraid to hammer Durant for this for fear of a backlash.
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djmich
Footballguy
I’m sure they all want to stay out of it. NHL has the benefit of being mostly white, mostly Canadian and mostly not watched (other people’s loss as it’s the best sport).
Not that any of those things are bad, they’re not.
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