Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday he would no longer be throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener.
Abbott shared a letter he sent to the Rangers’ President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer Neil Lieberman ahead of the game on his Twitter account.
I was looking forward to throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opening game until @MLB adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia’s election law reforms.
It is shameful that America’s pastime is being influenced by partisan politics. pic.twitter.com/pNJApYBHpw
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 5, 2021
“I was looking forward to throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opening game until @MLB adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia’s election law reforms,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “It is shameful that America’s pastime is being influenced by partisan politics.” (RELATED: Black-Owned Businesses Bound To Take A Major Hit From Biden’s Support Of MLB’s Georgia Boycott)
“This decision does not diminish the deep respect I have for the Texas Rangers baseball organization, which is outstanding from top to bottom,” he had written in the letter. “I wish the team great success this season.”
Major League Baseball announced Friday the All-Star Game would be moved out of Georgia in 2021 due to Georgia’s voter integrity law, as previously reported.
The MLB intended to play the exhibition game at the Atlanta Braves’ park but decided to change the location after President Joe Biden called on the league to move the All Star Game over Georgia’s new elections law.
Biden previously criticized the law for restricting voting access for low-income minority voters in particular.