Support for Lawsuit Against MLB Grows as Black Leaders Call on League to Return All-Star Game to Atlanta

TAMPA, Fla., June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conservative Clergy of Color (CCC), a national, educational nonprofit organization, has announced its support for a lawsuit against Major League Baseball that seeks to return the 2021 All-Star Game to Atlanta following the League's decision in April to move the game to Denver. The move led to a reported $100 million in lost business, primarily for minority-owned businesses in the Atlanta metropolitan area still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

In a letter delivered to federal court Judge Valerie Caproni on Tuesday, CCC Chairman and founding member Bishop Aubrey Shines requested that the Court consider the consequences that minority-owned businesses face because of Commissioner Rob Manfred's decision. Bishop Shines stated that "…in a move of reckless political retribution, the MLB took the All-Star game from Atlanta and in doing so deprived local small businesses of more than $100 million worth of much-needed economic activity."

"Many of these affected businesses are black-owned and located in black neighborhoods," Bishop Shines continued. "The MLB's decision to punish these minority small businesses and residents who bear no responsibility for their state's political decisions is un-Christian and a violation of their civil rights."

The lawsuit was filed by a national business organization, the Job Creators Network, on May 31, 2021 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The defendants are the MLB, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the MLB Players Association, and Executive Director Tony Clark. The lawsuit calls for a return of the All-Star game on July 11, 2021 to Atlanta or the payment of $100 million in damages to small businesses around the state of Georgia who lost business for travel and accommodations, concessions, restaurants, and other services.

"The MLB must be held accountable for their egregious action that has significantly hurt Atlanta's black community," Bishop Shines said in his letter to Judge Caproni. "Therefore, please consider ruling in favor of the Job Creators Network and return the All-Star game to Atlanta and its black business owners and residents who deserve it," he concluded.

To see the letter to Judge Valerie Caproni, click here:  https://conservativeclergyofcolor.org/conservative-clergy-of-color-sends-letter-of-support-for-job-creators-network-lawsuit-against-mlb/

Ref.: Case No. No. 21-cv-4818-VEC

SOURCE Conservative Clergy of Color