Jackie Robinson would have supported MLB moving the All-Star Game from Georgia
The legendary Brooklyn Dodger stood for Black Americans' voting rights, six sports historians tell me.
Jackie Robinson, seen here in 1953, would have been totally behind MLB's anti-racism stance.Bettmann via Getty Images file
April 15, 2021, 1:26 PM UTC
Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game from Georgia to Colorado created shockwaves throughout the sports world. I've argued that one of the biggest factors in the league’s choice can be boiled down to two words: Jackie Robinson.
Every year on April 15, the sport commemorates the Brooklyn Dodgers player’s historic breaking of the color barrier with Jackie Robinson Day — and the last thing MLB wanted was a thousand questions about the hypocrisy of celebrating Robinson while holding its All-Star Game outside Atlanta. (And if you still don’t understand why the state’s newly enacted election law is racist, this thread will be helpful.)