MLB should lose antitrust exemption after All-Star move

In a spectacular display of virtue signaling, Major League Baseball will move the 2021 AllStar Game out of Atlanta in response to voting legislation recently passed in Georgia.

The ability to get the facts straight about the new law apparently did not factor into the decision.

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

He added, “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”

Misinformation about the details of the voting law are widely touted as fact, and corporations have dutifully jumped on the condemnation bandwagon, notably Georgia-based businesses Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines.

Provisions of the law actually expand voting access — as weekend voting will jump from one weekend day to two Saturdays, with the option of two Sundays as well.

And no, grandma won’t die of thirst while waiting to vote.

That matters little to the outrage machine.

MLB’s move will likely cost Georgia millions.

The “estimated lost economic impact” from the relocation is more than $100 million, according to a statement from Holly Quinlan, president and CEO of Cobb Travel and Tourism, reported by CNN.

But the Georgia economy may not be the only losers in this game — nor should it be.

Late last week, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah threw the organization a curve ball: MLB should lose its antitrust exemption, they said.

“Why does @MLB still have antitrust immunity?” Lee tweeted. “It’s time for the federal government to stop granting special privileges to specific, favored corporations — especially those that punish their political opponents.”

Cruz then added that he and Lee would be working “hard to END MLB’s antitrust immunity.”

MLB got the antitrust exemption after a 1922 Supreme Court decision ruled that the league is a sport and not a business.

The National Football League, National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League don’t have the same sweeping exemption, though the NFL has limited antitrust exemption.

Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan (S.C.) said that he will propose a bill to remove Major League Baseball’s antitrust law exemption, The Hill reported.

Duncan, shortly after MLB unveiled its decision Friday afternoon, tweeted, “In light of @MLB’s stance to undermine election integrity laws, I have instructed my staff to begin drafting legislation to remove Major League Baseball’s federal antitrust exception.”

In a follow-up tweet, he added, “An overwhelming bipartisan majority of Americans support requiring an ID to vote, and any organization that abuses its power to oppose secure elections deserves increased scrutiny under the law.”

The MLB chose to politicize baseball by aligning its placement of the All-Star Game with the Democratic agenda. The move will cost its former host state about $100 million — money the state sorely needs as it struggles to recover from the revenue-gutting hit of the coronavirus pandemic.

The anti-trust exemption for Major League Baseball has been debated for years — it’s time to end the league’s special status.

As its recent actions have shown, it’s not just a sport.