Dave Roberts avoids controversy on why All-Star Game is back in Atlanta

USA Today

a day ago

ATLANTA — As the baseball world descends on Truist Park for the 2025 All-Star festivities celebrating the Atlanta Braves organization, there are still questions as to why Georgia was awarded the Midsummer Classic four years after it was revoked in response to the state's controversial voting laws.
During a news conference on July 14 revealing the starting lineups for MLB's jewel event, a reporter asked National League manager Dave Roberts – who supported the league's decision in 2021 – about the game being back in Atlanta even though the laws "haven't changed."
Sports media personality Pat McAfee was the event's MC and seemed taken aback by the inquiry, doing his best to shield Roberts and others on stage from the pointed question.
"I believe the question was a political question about laws that are on the books," McAfee said. "I don't know if any of us are experts or the ones that should be getting asked about that."
The reporter cited Roberts' own words from a 2021 MLB Network AAPI special for the need to be "relentless with our voices."
Roberts followed up: "I think Pat answered it perfectly and honestly, I appreciate the question, I appreciate your thoughts. ... I do feel that everyone has the right to voice thoughts, but right now, I really choose to just focus on the players in the game and I'm excited to be here. ... For me, to be able to manage these guys, I'm honored. So I don't want to get into the policy, but thank you."
Commissioner Rob Manfred has been similarly avoidant explaining the decision to give the game to Georgia again.
'I've said it before, we wanted to bring an All-Star Game back to Atlanta,' Manfred said at the 2023 owners' meetings in Arlington, Texas. 'I made a decision in 2021 to move the event and I understand, believe me, that people had then and probably still have different views as to the merits of that decision.
'What's most important is that the Atlanta Braves are a great organization. Truist Park and The Battery are gems in terms of the facilities, and Atlanta and Georgia have been great markets for us for a very, very long time."
Dave Roberts was once an advocate
Roberts, who was also set to manage that 2021 game, was extremely vocal in his support of MLB pulling the festivities at the time – a decision that came days after then-President Joe Biden said he was in favor of moving the game.
"For the commissioner to kind of do his due diligence in baseball, outside of baseball, players, front office, and ultimately make a decision to remove the All-Star Game and the draft out of the state of Georgia, I support," Roberts said in 2021.
He added: 'It's very impactful, because I think in a world now where people want and need to be heard – in this particular case, people of color – for Major League Baseball to listen and do something about it and be proactive, I think it sets a tone from Major League Baseball to the players, and we have to be in it together."
Despite his past advocacy, the longtime Dodgers skipper has faced criticism in recent months for his silence on social issues.
Roberts went on the team's April visit to Donald Trump in the White House, celebrating the 2024 World Series championship. The manager gushed about taking an Oval Office photo in front of the Declaration of Independence, a "picture I'm going to cherish for a long time."
For what it's worth, Trump had previously ripped Roberts' bullpen management during the Dodgers' 2018 World Series.
When ICE raids began in Los Angeles in June sparking massive protests, fans and local leaders were calling on the Dodgers to stand with the community and denounce the Trump administration's tactics.
But Roberts didn't have much to say when the Dodgers returned from a road trip to a city in turmoil.
'I know that when you're having to bring people in and, you know, deport people and just kind of all the unrest, it's certainly unsettling for everyone," Roberts said, adding that he doesn't "know enough" and "can't speak intelligently on (the situation)."