$100 Million Lawsuit Filed Against MLB Over All-Star Game Move From Georgia

The MLB is facing a $100 million lawsuit for moving the All-Star Game out of Atlanta.

Job Creators Network is a small business advocacy hub. The organization announced in a press release on Monday (May 31) that it filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, against Major League Baseball, Commissioner Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball Players Association and Executive Director Tony Clark, the release states.

Job Creators Network “demands the immediate return of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game to Atlanta or that defendants pay $100 million in damages to local and state small businesses – many of which are minority-owned and still recovering from Covid-19 losses,” the organization states of its lawsuit.

Officials announced in April that the All-Star Game would move from Atlanta, Georgia, to Denver, Colorado. The move came after the Peach State’s controversial voting law.

“MLB robbed the small businesses of Atlanta – many of them minority-owned – of $100 million, we want the game back where it belongs,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network. “This was a knee-jerk, hypocritical and illegal reaction to misinformation about Georgia’s new voting law which includes Voter-ID. Major League Baseball itself requests ID at will-call ticket windows at Yankee Stadium in New York, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and at ballparks all across the country.”

Because of the change of venue for the All-Star Game, more than 8,000 hotel reservations were canceled, revenue from ticket sales and other expenses were lost, and more, according to Job Creators Network.

“Small businesses in this community had valid contracts relating to the All-Star Game and other events, the result of two years of planning and all that was ripped away by fear and misinformation spewed by political activists. Many states, including Colorado where the game has been moved to, have similar or more restrictive election laws,” Ortiz said in the release. “This move essentially tells fans of teams in many other cities that they can never again host the All-Star Game; it’s hypocritical, illegal and we won’t stand for it.”

The MLB hadn’t publicly responded to the lawsuit as of Tuesday morning (June 1).

See the complaint here.

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