Former President Donald Trump has returned to the American professional sports scene, this time to call for a boycott of Major League Baseball after its announcement of retirement from All-Star Game in Atlanta, in protest of the new voting law passed in the state of Georgia.
Trump, who during his tenure had a permanent confrontation with the main leagues for considering that they were “politicized” and managers “coerced” by the threats from the players, urged fans to boycott the competition, through a statement issued by the Save America PAC organization.
The former president claimed that Major League Baseball leadership was “afraid of radical left-wing Democrats,” claiming that the party pressured Commissioner Rob Manfred to change the venue, due to Georgia’s new electoral law, recently signed by the Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
Trump also targeted large Atlanta-based corporations such as Coca-Cola and Delta, which issued statements against Georgia law, given that they may go the same boycott path that Major League Baseball will suffer.
“Baseball is already losing large numbers of fans,” Trump wrote, “and now they are leaving Atlanta with their All-Star Game because they fear radical left Democrats who do not want a desperately needed voter ID to protect our choices.”
For his part, Governor Kemp defined the decision of the Major Leagues as a real “madness”, and affirmed that the electoral laws in New York, home of the Major League, were still “stricter” than those of Georgia.
Major League Baseball set the schedule for a regular 60-game campaign in empty parks on Tuesday night as the way to get the sport going amid the coronavirus pandemic and after months of discord between players and team owners.
During his presidency, Trump repeatedly criticized the National Football League (NFL) for allowing player protests during the performance of the national anthem before games, something he considered an “insult” and “disrespect” to the entire country.
Last year he called the NBA a “political organization” after several teams suspended playoff games in protest of police brutality.
Trump has also defined the NBA as “bought” by China, claiming that the basketball league has favored its own overseas earnings over support for pro-democracy policies.
A group of enthusiasts played volleyball in front of the volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula. Since the March 19 eruption, visitors have flocked to the site.
His confrontation was also with the NBA stars, led by forward LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who refused to visit the White House while he was president.
Quite the opposite of what happened to his predecessor in office, Democrat Barack Obama, whom the NBA stars admired and currently have him as an “advisor”.
The players union confirmed that it had consulted with Obama before deciding to boycott several playoff games in protest at the death of black citizen George Floyd.