Three Republican U.S. senators have announced that they are preparing to introduce a bill to repeal Major League Baseball’s (MLB) anti-trust exemption.
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are moving forward with the measure in response to MLB’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of the Joe State Election Reform Act.
The election reform bill, signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp (R), includes key elements such as requiring verification of photo ID for those requesting absentee ballots; enhancing ballot box security; and expanding early voting dates, among other things.
Cruz told reporters Tuesday (April 13), “If they’re going to play partisan enforcers, they shouldn’t expect special treatment from Washington when they take dishonest actions to favor one side and oppose the other.”
Cruz explained that MLB, unlike other major leagues, has special subsidies and enjoys the monopoly status of a sports league.
MLB’s antitrust exemption limits the emergence and competition of other leagues and is the only league to benefit from a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that treated MLB as a sport, not a business.
“This is not about voting, this is about moral warnings, this is about punishment,” Cruz said, adding that Major League Baseball made the decision, that more than half of the league’s fans are none other than Republicans who are unhappy with the decision and that voter fraud legislation, too, is not its proper concern. “
“Major League Baseball has acted with arrogance.” Cruz added, “It’s the arrogance of a monopolist, it’s the arrogance of the fact that they expected it and their fans have nowhere to go.”
“I’m a big Houston Astros fan. I’m happy to root for the Rangers, too, but I love my Astros. A lot of baseball fans I know are angry about this move, but at the same time don’t necessarily want to turn off the TV and stop watching sports. They have the power of a monopoly and they know for a fact that their customers aren’t going anywhere.” He added.
“Monopoly and freedom are incompatible.” Hawley said on “The Tonight Show with Tucker Carlson Tonight.
“No corporation should be so large or so powerful that it can control the political process and can override the will of the voters.”
The legislation, introduced by Republican senators, could receive Democratic support.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called in February for a reevaluation of MLB’s antitrust exemption because of its decision to eliminate a minor league team in Vermont.
MLB Chairman Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced earlier this month that the All-Star Game would be moved out of Georgia.
“Over the past week, we have had thoughtful conversations with clubs, former and current players, the Players Association and the Players Union, to hear their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is to find another venue to host this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”
He went on to say that MLB “fundamentally supports the right of all Americans to vote and opposes restrictions on the ballot box.”
President Joe Biden said March 31 that he supports MLB’s move of the All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to election reform legislation.
“I think the professional athletes acted today and took their responsibility. I would strongly support them doing that,” Biden said, adding that “people look up to them and they’re leaders. Look at what’s happening in the NBA. Look at what’s happening in all areas. It’s not right that the people who have suffered the most are the leaders of these sports.”
For his part, Gov. Joe Kemp said Biden and his advisers, apparently, are unfamiliar with the bill’s contents.
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