MLB Source Leaks That Media Would've Pressured Players

Jake Tapper says that an informed source told him that MLB moved its All-Star Game proactively, knowing that if it didn't, the media would've hounded players for months, leading to several individual boycotts.

Tapper's thread reveals several important points.

First, this appears to be a strategic leak to make MLB look better after receiving tremendous backlash for relocating the All-Star Game. The source likely saw this as a way to a) make it sounds like the alternative would've been more distracting and more political; and b) that MLB took one for the team, having the backs of its players.

A story like this one gets out when someone wants it out. That's not a knock on Tapper. He reported what he was told and, based on the reaction, got a major scoop.

Strategic also doesn't mean false. It's true that the media would've relentlessly hounded and pressured players to boycott the game. When the sports media have a chance to call something racist -- even with virtually no facts to back it up -- they take it. Some MLB players would have subsequently caved out of fear. Some players because they believe President Joe Biden's lie that the Georgia voting bill is Jim Crow 2.0/on steroids/Jim Eagle, but most care far more about their bottom lines than the truth. 

What happened here is the same idea behind the cancel culture movement: put companies in no-win situations and wait for them to choose the easy way out. In caving on the All-Star Game, MLB sadly joined a long list of spineless corporations.

At some point, a prominent business must push back, point out the facts, and expose the idiocy of this movement. Yes, MLB would've received backlash either way, but it also could've put these reporters to the test by making them explain what's racist about voter ID. Knowing most in sports media, they wouldn't have much of an answer. MLB should have let the media and select players look foolish, not its brand.