ATLANTA — The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is back in metro Atlanta four years after MLB pulled the game from Truist Park.
The MLB commissioner said they made that decision after Georgia lawmakers passed a controversial election integrity bill.
But two years later, MLB changed its mind and never really gave a reason why.
In an exclusive interview, Gov. Brian Kemp told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot again what he said nearly four years ago.
“Well, it should’ve been done a long time ago, but we’re glad to have it happening next week,” Kemp said.
Kemp believes MLB made a mistake when it pulled the 2021 All-Star game from metro Atlanta because of the controversial election integrity law.
That law overhauled the way Georgians vote -- from absentee and early voting -- to the way votes are counted. It even banned groups from passing out water in long voting lines.
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Barely two years later, baseball backtracked and awarded Georgia the 2025 All-Star game without ever really giving a reason why, because that law is still in effect, completely unchanged.
Kemp said that since the law went into effect, voter turnout and participation are actually higher than they were before, proving the law is working.
“I’m not too worried about feeling vindicated. It’s a shame it ever happened because a lot of people went through hell when that happened for no good reason,” Kemp said.
The first time Atlanta hosted an All-Star Game was in 1972 at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Hank Aaron hit a two-run homer to help the National League win. The next time was in 2000, at the old Turner Field.
But now, in 2025, at Truist Park, Georgia NAACP president Gerald Griggs is still upset over the law and with baseball.
He said baseball should have reached out to his organization or others to talk about social justice in the home state of Jackie Robinson.
“Above all, I am a baseball fan. I’m excited that it’s back, but as a civil rights activist, I don’t see any change that necessitated it coming back,” Griggs said.
Supporters say voter participation and minority participation are up thanks to this law.
Critics disagree. They say those numbers are up in spite of the law, and only due to strong voter turnout efforts.in
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