Former Baseball Commissioner Slams Current Baseball Commissioner Over All Star Controversy

Fay Vincent, commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1989 to 1992, weighs in at The Wall Street Journal on the current controversy:

Major League Baseball decided last week to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta after the Georgia Legislature passed changes to the state’s voting laws that many, including President Biden, called racist. Activists urged Commissioner Robert Manfred to punish Georgia. By rushing to do so without first protesting the substance of the law, Mr. Manfred made a serious mistake.

The use of “muscle” or financial power to influence policy is an ancient tactic. The term “boycott” has its roots in 19th-century Ireland, where the nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell urged his followers not to deal with Charles Cunningham Boycott, a highly unpopular British land agent. A boycott is generally an act of desperation, and the original one was largely unsuccessful.

Organizations like Major League Baseball have sometimes participated in public debates over policy. Moving directly to an economic sanction suggests that Mr. Manfred believed the Georgia law required drastic intervention. But consider what he didn’t do: He didn’t limit the number of home games the Atlanta Braves will play. He’d need the approval of the players’ union to do that, and Braves owner John Malone would surely resist. To move the site of the All-Star Game is one thing; to ignore union and ownership powers is quite another...

The talk shows and editorial pages are full of questions. What is the basis for acting so forcefully against Georgia? If Georgia is racist, how can baseball talk of doing business with China? Mr. Manfred failed to spell out specific criticisms of Georgia’s voting law. Now he’s put himself in the awkward position of having to defend Colorado’s voting laws...

Major League Baseball can’t become a weapon in the culture wars, a hostage for one political party or ideology...

The situation calls to mind the 2006 Duke lacrosse case, when many erred—like Mr. Manfred has here—by leaping to a conclusion based on assumptions rather than carefully considered facts. I’ve done the same thing, to my regret. Much rides on Mr. Manfred’s shoulders so he must be prudent. Perhaps he now sees how complicated these issues can become. I wish him well.

-RW

(ht Dave Burns)