Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp praised the Augusta National Golf Club for not yielding to the recent political pressure on the state.
“I personally applaud the Masters for not getting involved in politics,” Kemp told Seema Mody of CNBC.
Kemp’s comments come when Augusta National hosted this year’s Masters golf tournament, which began Thursday. The rally took place after the Republican governor signed an election bill last month that, according to critics, exempts voters of color out of proportion.
Major League Baseball announced on April 2 that it will pick up its 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta in protest of the signing of the bill. Kemp blew the league’s decision on ‘The News with Shepard Smith’.
“I do not appreciate the position they have taken,” Kemp said. “They can simply stand up and have a backbone until the activists put money in their pockets, while hard work and Georgians are hurt by the Major League Baseball decision.”
MLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
Fred Ridley, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, said on Wednesday that the right to vote is fundamental to a democratic society. However, Ridley declined to say whether he supported or opposed Georgia’s new law.
Decisions by major sports entities such as those of MLB and Augusta National also have major economic consequences.
“Every time thousands and hundreds of thousands of people invade the city, which definitely puts itself in our tiny little neighborhood, and then we see the economic benefits,” Alphonzo Cross, owner of Parlor Cocktail Den in Atlanta, told CNBC . He also said he is trying to figure out how to catch up with the lost business in the All-Star Game.
Some economists estimate that the city’s losses due to the loss of the All-Star Game could amount to about $ 10 million.
In Augusta – 250 km east of Atlanta – businesses are much more positive. Augusta officials expect the golf tournament to raise at least $ 50 million. Heather Chancey, owner of Mexican grill Cantina Locale, told CNBC that her business has seen an increase this week, probably up to 60 to 75%. ‘