Former Yankee David Wells overturned Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta on Thursday in protest at the new GOP-led election reform bill.
Two-time World Series champion-pitcher told Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show” that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s move has led him to stop watching games.
“I’ve dealt with Rob Manfred a lot in my playing days and I never liked him,” Wells said during the interview.
“For me, how do you change the games, the dynamics, and how do you injure a city like Atlanta that really needs some income in that situation?” said the left-handed pitcher on the show. “I mean Atlanta is a great place to play baseball.”
The controversial March measure tightened restrictions on absenteeism and allows the state to take control of local electoral systems.
The bill was seen by Democrats as a move to suppress minority votes in Georgia after the historic red state turned blue for federal competitions in 2020. Republicans argue that the reforms improve the integrity of the election.
MLB and the Players Association pulled the 2021 Midsummer Classic out of the state after critics called on companies doing business in Georgia to protest the law.
Wells said that decision convinced him to throw in the towel on America’s pastime.
“I don’t watch baseball anymore, Brian,” he said on the radio show. ‘That’s why I refuse to look at it. I don’t want to be a part of it, and this was my life … For me to not want to go to a baseball game or even watch it, it kills me, because I don’t accept that kind of bullshit, and I don’t condone it. “
Wells, who once pitched a perfect game for the Bombers while “ half drunk, ” told Kilmeade he would protest himself if he were still playing.
“If I were playing now, Brian, I wouldn’t be wearing that Nike,” Wells said of the apparel company’s deal with national anthem kneeler Colin Kaepernick.
‘I would take it off. I would cut a hole in my jersey and have Nike on nothing, and if I got suspended, so be it. “
“Her [Kneeling for the national anthem is] it’s not respecting our flag, it’s not respecting our military guys, and I’m not in favor, ”Wells reportedly said.