MLB moves All-Star game in response to GA voter laws

[Bucsfan5493]

It surprises me how angry people get over a couple of mentions about social justice during a sports broadcast. I mean, does it really interrupt the game at all? Are you watching a NBA game, and saying to yourself "####, that buzzer beater was sick but the fact that he has 'Black Lives Matter' on the back of his shirt totally killed the excitement for me"?

[bigmarc27]

52 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

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.

Yeah Cobb is not ATL. The only time these players will see Atlanta is when they take 85 through downtown. Buckhead and the Battery are losing money, none of these guys are going anywhere else. 

[bigmarc27]

3 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

It surprises me how angry people get over a couple of mentions about social justice during a sports broadcast. I mean, does it really interrupt the game at all? Are you watching a NBA game, and saying to yourself "####, that buzzer beater was sick but the fact that he has 'Black Lives Matter' on the back of his shirt totally killed the excitement for me"?

It’s faux outrage.  I can understand the messaging may get redundant, but that’s not why they’re outraged.  They just want to wash their hands of it.  It doesn’t affect me, I don’t want to hear about it. 

[NorvilleBarnes]

2 minutes ago, bigmarc27 said:

It’s faux outrage. 

On both sides it seems. There may be a lot of bad things in the bill but it sure seems strange to keep hearing about a bottle of water.

[djmich]

12 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

It surprises me how angry people get over a couple of mentions about social justice during a sports broadcast. I mean, does it really interrupt the game at all? Are you watching a NBA game, and saying to yourself "####, that buzzer beater was sick but the fact that he has 'Black Lives Matter' on the back of his shirt totally killed the excitement for me"?

Probably a different thread because surely you see the difference between a sports league exacting retribution on a state based on a law vs a couple mentions of SJ on a broadcast?

 

Edited April 3 by djmich

[NorvilleBarnes]

They probably should have decided where to move it to first. That state is about to get a great deal of scrutiny.

[djmich]

1 minute ago, NorvilleBarnes said:

On both sides it seems. There may be a lot of bad things in the bill but it sure seems strange to keep hearing about a bottle of water.

Yah, but trying to figure out how outrage to real actions as a result of faux outrage is not real.

 

[AAABatteries]

41 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

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.

Turner Field was repurposed from the ‘96 Olympics - it was right next to where Atlanta Fulton County stadium stood - right downtown.  Quite frankly, the surrounding area was a bad part of town.  Not a place where you would want to be walking around at night by yourself.  And there was virtually nothing around there that drew people in before the game or to stick around after the game.  The new location The Battery is an outstanding location and surrounding area.  Now one could argue they could have tried to build something downtown to match but 1. Finding the location would have been next to impossible and 2. The price.  It’s an infinitely better game day experience now than what they had at Turner.

[Bucsfan5493]

2 minutes ago, djmich said:

Probably a different thread because surely you see the difference between a sports league exacting retribution on a state based on a law vs a couple mentions of SJ on a broadcast?

 

Maybe I misinterpreted GR, but I thought he was implying even mentions on the broadcast bother him too. Agreed that moving the game out of the state due to a law being passed is definitely on another level.

Quote

We've already seen it with the NBA, and MLB is now going to follow suit, all to appease a woke, enlightened crowd

Unless I'm missing something the NBA did in regards to the new Georgia voting laws, it seems like that's what he's implying here to me?

[NorvilleBarnes]

Just now, djmich said:

Yah, but trying to figure out how outrage to real actions as a result of faux outrage is not real.

 

Naturally if the politics being injected in a broadcast aligns with someone views, they're less likely to get upset. 

[djmich]

So how we all feeling about #22 switching to Abortion Is Murder

[Bucsfan5493]

4 minutes ago, AAABatteries said:

Turner Field was repurposed from the ‘96 Olympics - it was right next to where Atlanta Fulton County stadium stood - right downtown.  Quite frankly, the surrounding area was a bad part of town.  Not a place where you would want to be walking around at night by yourself.  And there was virtually nothing around there that drew people in before the game or to stick around after the game.  The new location The Battery is an outstanding location and surrounding area.  Now one could argue they could have tried to build something downtown to match but 1. Finding the location would have been next to impossible and 2. The price.  It’s an infinitely better game day experience now than what they had at Turner.

Thanks for the context.

Kind of totally off-topic here but from what I've been reading, it actually sounds like the area where Turner Field is at is absolutely booming right now. Been reading a lot about how much Summerville is being built up and it has great potential with GSU right there. Was this happening before the Braves moved out or did them moving spark more development in that area?

Edited April 3 by Bucsfan5493

[Philo Beddoe]

They must have gotten used to the idea of not having fans in the stands.

[djmich]

Now batting, "Gender Is Not A Social Construct"

[bigmarc27]

16 minutes ago, NorvilleBarnes said:

On both sides it seems. There may be a lot of bad things in the bill but it sure seems strange to keep hearing about a bottle of water.

Again though, as others have mentioned the water bottle is misdirection from the main issues. 
 

Edit: as you can see from djmich, it’s easier to deflect and not engage.

Edited April 3 by bigmarc27

[Cowboysfan8]

17 minutes ago, NorvilleBarnes said:

On both sides it seems. There may be a lot of bad things in the bill but it sure seems strange to keep hearing about a bottle of water.

Yeah no ####

And I guess it’s not offensive for the Braves to be called the Braves this week since they moved the Allstar game ?

[Bucsfan5493]

19 minutes ago, NorvilleBarnes said:

On both sides it seems. There may be a lot of bad things in the bill but it sure seems strange to keep hearing about a bottle of water.

What's wild to me is that there are much worse things in that bill than not being able to hand out water within 150 feet yet the Democrats strangely seemed to be solely focused on pushing that. Makes absolutely no sense to me that they're focusing on that rather than something like drop off locations being cut by 75% in heavy Democratic counties and them not being 24/7, making it harder for people who work during the day to drop off their ballots.

[IvanKaramazov]

25 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

It surprises me how angry people get over a couple of mentions about social justice during a sports broadcast. I mean, does it really interrupt the game at all? Are you watching a NBA game, and saying to yourself "####, that buzzer beater was sick but the fact that he has 'Black Lives Matter' on the back of his shirt totally killed the excitement for me"?

If you're really surprised by this, it's probably because you agree with the message and haven't used your imagination to think about how you would like if if your favorite sport led off every game with a brief prayer/devotional dedicated to whatever religion you most dislike, and also featured little religious mini-features scattered throughout the broadcast.  Could you still enjoy the game?  Sure of course.  But you would probably find the religious angle out-of-place and intrusive, and you'd probably resent it a bit.  

This is kind of ironic because this takes some of the same ideas that we apply to making other public events inclusive, and flips them on their head.  For example, many of us consider prayers at graduations kind of tacky in part because they pointlessly exclude people who don't practice that particular faith -- it's not that big a deal and non-believers can just stand there and think about what they're going to cook for supper or something while everybody else prays -- but it's more inclusive to just let graduation focus on graduation and drop the unrelated religious angle.  The "politics in sports" discussion is basically the exact same thing only with everybody switching sides.  

[Bucsfan5493]

3 minutes ago, Cowboysfan8 said:

Yeah no ####

And I guess it’s not offensive for the Braves to be called the Braves this week since they moved the Allstar game ?

The Braves were not involved in the decision to move the game. In fact, they actually released a statement saying that they are disappointed and it was not their recommendation to move it.

[djmich]

2 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

What's wild to me is that there are much worse things in that bill than not being able to hand out water within 150 feet yet the Democrats strangely seemed to be solely focused on pushing that. Makes absolutely no sense to me that they're focusing on that rather than something like drop off locations being cut by 75% in heavy Democratic counties and them not being 24/7, making it harder for people who work during the day to drop off their ballots.

Yah, the article I referenced as a summary on page two of this thread from cbsnews doesn't really talk about the drop of locations either.

Not sure the reasoning why, do you know.   

[Bucsfan5493]

1 minute ago, IvanKaramazov said:

If you're really surprised by this, it's probably because you agree with the message and haven't used your imagination to think about how you would like if if your favorite sport led off every game with a brief prayer/devotional dedicated to whatever religion you most dislike, and also featured little religious mini-features scattered throughout the broadcast.  Could you still enjoy the game?  Sure of course.  But you would probably find the religious angle out-of-place and intrusive, and you'd probably resent it a bit.  

This is kind of ironic because this takes some of the same ideas that we apply to making other public events inclusive, and flips them on their head.  For example, many of us consider prayers at graduations kind of tacky in part because they pointlessly exclude people who don't practice that particular faith -- it's not that big a deal and non-believers can just stand there and think about what they're going to cook for supper or something while everybody else prays -- but it's more inclusive to just let graduation focus on graduation and drop the unrelated religious angle.  The "politics in sports" discussion is basically the exact same thing only with everybody switching sides.  

Uhhhh, do you remember Tim Tebow? Dude wouldn't shut up about religion in every interview, would have a prayer circle every game, etc. Tons of athletes even nowadays still reference God in post game interviews and how they couldn't have gotten here without him. Sure, it might be a little annoying to me as an atheist but I would never consider boycotting over such a ridiculous reason. It certainly doesn't ruin the excitement of the sport for me.

[Joe Mammy]

Move it to the Trop in St. Pete. It's indoors with special new ventilation to insure safety. 72 degrees. No rain delays.

And FL has no voter suppression. OOOPPPSSSS!

DeSantis Heads Suppression Team

[beef]

9 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

What's wild to me is that there are much worse things in that bill than not being able to hand out water within 150 feet yet the Democrats strangely seemed to be solely focused on pushing that. Makes absolutely no sense to me that they're focusing on that rather than something like drop off locations being cut by 75% in heavy Democratic counties and them not being 24/7, making it harder for people who work during the day to drop off their ballots.

Agreed.  I think it's just how ridiculous the whole giving water thing is that makes it such a strong talking point.  Has to be one of the very few times in the history of mankind that giving water to someone thirsty is illegal.  

Edited April 3 by beef

[bigmarc27]

4 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

The Braves were not involved in the decision to move the game. In fact, they actually released a statement saying that they are disappointed and it was not their recommendation to move it.

His post wasn’t worth a response. It’s literally the same outrage culture they’re supposedly so against. 
 

They get mad if the government does anything to promote equality, they get mad if individuals do anything to promote equality, now private entities are promoting equality so let’s get mad at them too. 
 

People who don’t agree with their ideology just need to shut up and dribble. 

[Bucsfan5493]

1 minute ago, djmich said:

Yah, the article I referenced as a summary on page two of this thread from cbsnews doesn't really talk about the drop of locations either.

Not sure the reasoning why, do you know.   

Really not sure, it makes absolutely no sense to me. Maybe we can just chalk it up to the Democrats being horrible at messaging?

[IvanKaramazov]

2 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

Uhhhh, do you remember Tim Tebow? 

Tim Tebow is an individual person, not a league.

[Cowboysfan8]

9 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

The Braves were not involved in the decision to move the game. In fact, they actually released a statement saying that they are disappointed and it was not their recommendation to move it.

Oh man, thanks

Theyre probably screwed then

[NorvilleBarnes]

10 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

The Braves were not involved in the decision to move the game. In fact, they actually released a statement saying that they are disappointed and it was not their recommendation to move it.

Actual footage of MLB reading that statement. LINK

[NorvilleBarnes]

4 minutes ago, Joe Mammy said:

Move it to the Trop in St. Pete. It's indoors with special new ventilation to insure safety. 72 degrees. No rain delays.

And FL has no voter suppression. OOOPPPSSSS!

DeSantis Heads Suppression Team

It's starting to sink in and I am absolutely here for it.

[bigmarc27]

1 minute ago, Cowboysfan8 said:

Oh man, thanks

Theyre probably screwed then

MLBPA has stated it was corporate sponsor pressure. 

[djmich]

2 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

Uhhhh, do you remember Tim Tebow? Dude wouldn't shut up about religion in every interview, would have a prayer circle every game, etc. Tons of athletes even nowadays still reference God in post game interviews and how they couldn't have gotten here without him. Sure, it might be a little annoying to me as an atheist but I would never consider boycotting over such a ridiculous reason. It certainly doesn't ruin the excitement of the sport for me.

This is like the "what is cancel culture" discussion we had earlier.  I guess everyone can make their own definition and has their own set of "whats" ok but I think you are mostly comparing different things.

I don't like the idea of politics or religion in sports.  To me that means "in the game" or impacting the game.

I don't give a #### what individuals like Tebow or LeBron does in a presser.  I think black athletes working to improve their community and talking about it non stop is frigging awesome (although we may disagree on what they think improvement means and entails).

I think players coming together after a game is over to huddle in prayer or kneel for whatever cause is cool.

I would have no problem kneeling before a game if it wasn't during the anthem.

You may think politicizing sports leagues is great and injecting politics and beliefs into sports is not a big deal.  But not sure why you wouldn't see that many do.  And unfortunately today EVERYTHING is political.   

 

 

 

[djmich]

8 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

Really not sure, it makes absolutely no sense to me. Maybe we can just chalk it up to the Democrats being horrible at messaging?

I meant why it was included in the law.

[FairWarning]

2 hours ago, The Dude said:

How do you know delta supported the changes

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2021/03/31/flip-flop-delta-air-lines-ceo-now-says-georgia-election-law-is-wrong-and-based-on-a-lie/amp/

[Cowboysfan8]

4 minutes ago, bigmarc27 said:

His post wasn’t worth a response. It’s literally the same outrage culture they’re supposedly so against. 
 

They get mad if the government does anything to promote equality, they get mad if individuals do anything to promote equality, now private entities are promoting equality so let’s get mad at them too. 
 

People who don’t agree with their ideology just need to shut up and dribble. 

1. I’m not outraged 

2. You don’t know me, you have zero idea how I feel about anyone promoting equality 

3. Campaigners handing out water bottles and sandwiches in a voting line is not promoting equality.

4. If you can’t make it through a voting line without a meal, or think far enough ahead to bring a water with you if you feel you’re going to need one, you’ve got bigger issues than equality imo. 

5. Your post wasn’t very excellent 

[bigmarc27]

Just now, Cowboysfan8 said:

1. I’m not outraged 

2. You don’t know me, you have zero idea how I feel about anyone promoting equality 

3. Campaigners handing out water bottles and sandwiches in a voting line is not promoting equality.

4. If you can’t make it through a voting line without a meal, or think far enough ahead to bring a water with you if you feel you’re going to need one, you’ve got bigger issues than equality imo. 

5. Your post wasn’t very excellent 

1.  Calm down.

2. Thank God

3. Read multiple times in this thread alone about how that is distracting from the message.

4. See #3

5. Then cancel me. 

[FairWarning]

59 minutes ago, djmich said:

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.

I hate that they signedwith  ESPN next year.  Now those nitwits will convert them to wokeness.

[Bucsfan5493]

7 minutes ago, djmich said:

I meant why it was included in the law.

Not sure either but I have a hard time believing it wasn't at least partially due to them trying and restrict more Democratic voters from voting.

[djmich]

1 minute ago, FairWarning said:

I hate that they signedwith  ESPN next year.  Now those nitwits will convert them to wokeness.

These are the same morons that continued to blackout 25% of the games I wanted to pay them $125/yr to watch and forced me to find free alternatives.

[Rubiobot]

11 hours ago, bigmarc27 said:

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.

Like several other parts of this bill it's obviously targeted to try to get fewer people to vote. 

Edited April 3 by Rubiobot

[FairWarning]

1 hour ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

It surprises me how angry people get over a couple of mentions about social justice during a sports broadcast. I mean, does it really interrupt the game at all? Are you watching a NBA game, and saying to yourself "####, that buzzer beater was sick but the fact that he has 'Black Lives Matter' on the back of his shirt totally killed the excitement for me"?

People watch sports to get away from the news.  If they want to draw attention to worthy causes, they can make a public service commercial, and be highly effective.

[Rubiobot]

11 hours ago, bigmarc27 said:

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. 

It works everywhere.

[bigmarc27]

1 minute ago, FairWarning said:

People watch sports to get away from the news.  If they want to draw attention to worthy causes, they can make a public service commercial, and be highly effective.

Oh yeah, most definitely. Public service commercials have completely ended drug use, racism, world hunger, etc...  they’re very effective. 😐

[djmich]

2 minutes ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

Not sure either but I have a hard time believing it wasn't at least partially due to them trying and restrict more Democratic voters from voting.

Yah, I'd like to hear it (the explanation) but nothing surprises me in politics.

What I can't wrap my head around between all the yelling is...is if the sum total of these changes impacts 5, 50, or 500 voters decisions to not vote.

[djmich]

2 minutes ago, bigmarc27 said:

Oh yeah, most definitely. Public service commercials have completely ended drug use, racism, world hunger, etc...  they’re very effective. 😐

Well the woke NBA hasn't reduced asian hate any either

[bigmarc27]

2 minutes ago, djmich said:

Well the woke NBA hasn't reduced asian hate any either

I don’t watch the NBA, nor do I know what you’re referring to.  If they want to talk about Asian violence, I salute them.  It’s their right to speak, and they have a platform to do so. 

Edited April 3 by bigmarc27

[Rubiobot]

1 hour ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

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? 

I would love someone to tell me this is not trying to make it harder for people to vote. 

[djmich]

7 minutes ago, Rubiobot said:

I would love someone to tell me this is not trying to make it harder for people to vote. 

I'd like to understand the reasoning better as well.

We could defer to Ed Bastian, who was for it before he was told he needed to be against it

Quote

There was also a statement from Delta CEO Ed Bastian, which Delta made public, that put a decidedly positive spin on S.B. 202. “The legislation signed this week improved considerably during the legislative process, and expands weekend voting, codifies Sunday voting and protects a voter’s ability to cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason,” reads Bastian’s initial statement. “For the first time, drop boxes have also been authorized for all counties statewide and poll workers will be allowed to work across county lines.”

 

Edited April 3 by djmich

[AAABatteries]

1 hour ago, Bucsfan5493 said:

Thanks for the context.

Kind of totally off-topic here but from what I've been reading, it actually sounds like the area where Turner Field is at is absolutely booming right now. Been reading a lot about how much Summerville is being built up and it has great potential with GSU right there. Was this happening before the Braves moved out or did them moving spark more development in that area?

I’m not positive but think it was after the move.

[sho nuff]

9 hours ago, Courtjester said:

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. 

Well...another stadium and small business owners in another city will get the jobs...so that sort of washes out doesn't it.

And lets not pretend that any of those politicians care about those workers at all.  Nor do those pushing for these laws.

It may be theatrics...but several clubs are coming out in support of the move...there are people all over talking about Georgia enacting these laws.  And polling seems against many of the provisions of that law that people are upset about(no...not all of the law is that...save me the talk about voter ID please...leave that this is all about ID to the social media people complaining).

 

[timschochet]

10 hours ago, rockaction said:

Boycotts never work. 

 

Simply not true. Liberal boycotts work all the time. Conservative boycotts almost never work. There is a reason for this: liberalism is about change; conservatism is about preventing change.