Cruz takes swing at MLB, slams antitrust immunity
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz took a swing at Major League Baseball on Tuesday, joining a group of Republican senators pushing legislation that would strip the league of its immunity from antitrust laws after the MLB moved its AllStar Game out of Georgia over new voting restrictions in the state.
U.S. Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Cruz announced the legislation at a news conference, accusing the MLB of “woke” virtue-signaling and acting as a “political enforcer for Democrats in Washington.”
“Major League Baseball made the decision that the more than half of its fans who happen to be Republicans are now disfavored and that voter fraud is not a concern legislatures should focus on,” Cruz said.
“That decision was harmful — it’s going to hurt baseball. But it also underscores that there’s no reason Major League Baseball should enjoy special subsidies, corporate welfare that no one else gets.”
The league has been exempt from federal antitrust laws since 1922, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled games were regulated by the states in which they were held and outside the scope of federal law.
While other pro sports leagues have some antitrust exemptions, the MLB exemption is broader and not offered to other sports leagues.
The GOP legislation would end that — but it is unlikely to go far in a Democratic-controlled Congress.
The bill is the latest blowback from Republicans after the league moved its AllStar Game out of Atlanta in response to Georgia’s sweeping new voting laws, which include restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run. Instead, Denver got the AllStar Game.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month declined to throw the ceremonial first pitch as planned at the Texas Rangers’ home opener and declared the state won’t seek to host any future MLB events.
The fallout comes as sports leagues and corporations are increasingly fighting against GOP efforts — including in Texas — to tighten state voting laws in the name of preventing fraud.
Nearly 200 companies, including HP, Microsoft, PayPal, Target, Twitter, Uber and Under Armour, signed a statement this month that took aim at state legislation “threatening to make voting more difficult” and said “elections are not improved” when lawmakers impose new barriers.
It also comes after the NCAA issued a stern warning to Texas lawmakers who are debating a bill to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ interscholastic sports.
The NCAA men’s basketball Final Four is scheduled to be in Houston in 2023 and in San Antonio in 2025. Dallas hosts the women’s Final Four in 2023, and the College Football Championship is set for Houston in 2024.
“This past month we have seen the rise of the woke corporation. We have seen the rise of big business enforcing a woke standard,” Cruz said.
“These woke corporations have decided to become the political enforcer for Democrats in Washington.”