Governor, several Republicans continue criticism of Major League Baseball

MARIETTA, Ga. — The fallout and rhetoric surrounding Major League Baseball’s decision to pull out of its planned All-Star Game in Atlanta continues to reverberate in political circles.

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Gov. Brian Kemp along with State Attorney General Chris Carr and state GOP Chairman David Shafer met at a Marietta restaurant to highlight what they believe to be a cost to local businesses.

The three along with other Republican supporters gathered at AJ’s Seafood and PoBoy’s in Marietta to highlight what they say was a decision that will penalize small businesses near the Truist Park.

“They’ve gotten hit by COVID-19 and now they’re getting hit by a decision they had no control over and that’s not right,” Kemp said.

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Channel 2 Action News reporter Christian Jennings spoke to Andy Erbacher who owns the restaurant. He says the business has struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic and he was looking forward to possibly having extra people in town to try out his food. His restaurant sits some seven miles north of the baseball stadium.

“I was prepared not just for one day but three days this.. people come to our restaurant to eat before they go to a game,” said Erbacher.

Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr joined the governor at the restaurant. Carr said the state is now facing five different lawsuits over the voting bill. Carr says he still cannot believe some of the language used to describe the law.

“This made up narrative that this bill takes us back to Jim Crow, an era where human beings were being killed and truly being prevented from casting their vote is preposterous,” said Carr.

Both Carr and Kemp continued their argument that the law is not understood and pointed to the items they considered most important.

“We have 17 days mandatory in person early voting. This bill adds an additional Saturday,” said Kemp. “New York where MLB is headquartered has 10 days of early voting.”

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Just days after MLB’s decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta, it awarded the game to Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies. The game will be played in Denver July 13.

Atlanta Braves honor the great Hank Aaron as home opener gets underway at Truist Park As the Atlanta Braves’ home opener gets underway, the team and Truist Park paid tribute to one of the team’s most legendary players -- Hank Aaron.