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Sports Pulse
ATLANTA – As the baseball world descends to Trust Park for the 2025 All-Star Festival, celebrating the Atlanta Braves organization, there are still questions as to why Georgia was awarded the Mid Summer Crassic four years after it was revoked in response to the state’s controversial voting laws.
In revealing the starting lineup for MLB’s Jewel Event at a July 14 press conference, the reporter asked National League Manager Dave Roberts, who supported the league’s decision in 2021, about his return to Atlanta despite the law being “unchanged.”
Sports media personality Pat McAfee was the MC of the event and seemed surprised by the investigation and did his best to protect Roberts and others on the stage from pointed questions.
“I think this question was a political question about the law in the book,” McAfee said. “I don’t know if any of us are experts or if we should be asked.”
Reporters said Roberts’ own words of the 2021 MLB Network AAPI need to do something “relentless to our voice.”
Roberts followed up as follows:
Commissioner Rob Manfred similarly avoided explaining his decision to give Georgia the game again.
“I said that before, we wanted to bring the All-Star Game back to Atlanta,” Manfred said at a 2023 owners’ meeting in Arlington, Texas. “I made the decision to move the event in 2021. I understand that people were then and probably still had a different view on the merits of that decision.
“Most importantly, the Atlanta Braves are a great organization. Trist Park and Battery are gems in terms of facilities, and Atlanta and Georgia have been great markets for us for a very long time.”
Dave Roberts was a former supporter
Roberts, who is set to manage the 2021 match, was extremely vocal about his support that MLB was leading the festival at the time.
“I said in 2021 to decide that the commissioner will do due diligence outside of baseball, baseball, players and front office and ultimately remove the All-Star Game and Draft from Georgia.
He added: “It’s very impactful because I think we have to be together to set the tone from major league baseball to players right now, to hear about it and in this particular case, to do something about it and be aggressive.”
Despite his past defenses, the longtime Dodger skipper has faced criticism over the past few months due to his silence on social issues.
Roberts took part in the team’s April visit to Donald Trump at the White House, celebrating the 2024 World Series Championship. The manager blew away taking photos of the oval office in front of the Declaration of Independence. “I’ll cherish it for a long time.”
Because of its value, Trump previously tore Roberts’ bullpen management during the Dodgers’ 2018 World Series.
When the ice attack that sparked massive protests began in Los Angeles in June, fans and local leaders were calling on the Dodgers to stand up to the community and condemn the Trump administration’s tactics.
But Roberts had little to say when the Dodgers returned from a road trip to a confused city.
“When you have to bring people in and when you know, you know that it’s certainly anxious for everyone,” Roberts said.
