HBO, David Simon to Pull Show From Texas Over Abortion Law. Will Sports Follow?

We knew three groups would push back the hardest against Texas's "heartbeat" abortion law. The same three groups are continuously the most outraged whenever the GOP passes a law: Hollywood, sports, and media. The media has taken its shots at Texas. Now, it's Hollywood's turn. Sports will soon follow.

First up is David Simon, the creator of The Wire. Simon announced Tuesday that he would pull filming for his upcoming HBO project out of Texas in response to the abortion law.

"As an employer, this is beyond politics," Simon says. "I'm turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can't and won't ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth?"

To get back at Republicans, Simon plans to remove his show from Dallas, a Democrat city. The announcement played great on Twitter, yet foolish in reality.

The Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (formerly the Dallas Film Commission) raised a similar point:

"Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big 'D') only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living."

So there's that. And Simon won't be the last.

Members of the media, Hollywood, and sports remind us they are ideologically the same. Less noted, however, is that frightened followers primarily make up the three groups. Once a group member issues a "brave" statement, the others quickly get in line. Meaning, more writers, directors, and sports commissioners will follow Simon's lead. MLB pulled out of Atlanta, another blue city, because of Georgia's voting law. MLB and the NBA undoubtedly now set their sights on Texas.

As for Simon's upcoming project for HBO, it could be a great series. Simon's political beliefs never stopped him from creating premier content before. For those who strongly support Texas' abortion restrictions, I get and understand skipping Simon's work moving forward. However, that won't change the industry and only prevents you from consuming a series you may enjoy. Unfortunately, people with a pro-life worldview have long had to separate the art from the artist or avoid the entertainment industry altogether. That's not changing.

Does California have any spots that look like Dallas? If so, David Simon could soon set up shop there.