Tipsheet

Psaki Tried to Distance Biden from the MLB's Boycott, But They Used His Stance to Justify the Decision

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  April 06, 2021 11:00 AM

After Major League Baseball League Commissioner Rob Manfred announced he was pulling the All Star Game from Georgia, Democrats who lied about the state's new voting law as "Jim Crow 2.0" started to regret their hyperbolic behavior. 

With news the boycott will cost Cobb County and Atlanta at least $100 million in badly needed revenue, the White House attempted to distance President Joe Biden from the situation. 

"He was not dictating for what Major League Baseball should do, that they should, dictating they should move the All-Star game.  That is, was their decision.  They made that decision.  And as he stated earlier, he certainly supports that," Psaki said Monday. "I'm not here to call for anyone, on behalf of the President or the Vice President or anyone, to take steps in reaction to the law in Georgia.  The President was asked a direct question, and the context of the question was also around the League meeting to discuss this exact issue, and he answered the question."

But the MLB's statement justifying their decision to move the event specifically cites Biden's criticism of the law. 

"Major League Baseball announced on Friday that it will relocate the 2021 All-Star Game and MLB Draft, originally scheduled to take place in Atlanta, to a to-be-determined location. The decision comes a little more than a week after the passage of S.B. 202, a Georgia law that President Joe Biden criticized earlier this week, saying that it will restrict voting access for residents of the state," MLB released last week. "Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement that the decision to move the All-Star Game was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport” and was made after consultation with teams, former and current players, the MLB Players Association and The Players Alliance, among others." 

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Meanwhile, there are reports MLB has chosen a new city for the All Star Game.