Photo Courtesy of Kelly Loeffler/Photo Courtesy of Instagram
Former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler took to her Twitter this week to express more Conservative talking points. Loeffler wrote that the MLB had a chance to honor baseball “icon” Hank Aaron but instead were influenced by left-wing politicians to relocate the All-Star game from Atlanta, Georgia. To everyone’s surprise, Hank Aaron’s grandson himself tweeted her back and told her to have several seats.
Along with her tweet, Loeffler released a statement regarding the relocation of the All-Star Games. “It’s extremely unfortunate that the MLB has fallen into the woke, misinformation campaign being spread by Democrats — only to the detriment of hardworking Georgians and small businesses,” she argued.
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“At a time when the MLB had an opportunity to honor an iconic trailblazer in Hank Aaron, they instead opted to honor politics.”
The MLB recently announced that they would no longer hold their 2021 draft or All-Star games in Atlanta. According to USA Today, the league chose to pull out of Atlanta last minute due to a voting bill that restricts access, especially to people of color. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred described the move as the “best way to demonstrate our values as a sport.”
In response to Loeffler, who lost her incumbent seat in the Georgia Senate election this past January, Hank Aaron’s grandson, Raynal Aaron, also went to social media. “Please keep my grandfather’s name out of your mouth,’ he tweeted back.
Though born and raised in Atlanta, Aaron makes it known that he doesn’t want his father’s legacy used as a political debate. Twitter users quickly agreed with Aaron, saying that his grandfather wouldn’t be in favor of inequality or voting restrictions for Black Americans.
“Can’t imagine Hank Aaron, a symbol of hard-fought equality, feeling that he was being “honored” by the state that wants to make it hard for its citizens to vote,” one user tweeted. Another person thanked him for calling out voter suppression in the state.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted his support of MLB’s move, while also acknowledging Aaron’s legacy.
Hank Aaron died this past January, but his grandson and family hope to keep his legacy alive, without using him to push a political agenda.
“The world lost a great sports icon and a true civil rights pioneer,” Aaron said about his grandfather. “But to me, he was just my Grandpa, the man who taught me a love for baseball, family and fishing.”