Tom Cotton Calls Out MLB’s Silence on Unrest in Cuba: ‘They Had Strong Feelings About Ballot Dropboxes in Georgia’

Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images

After taking a political stance by moving the Major League Baseball All-Star game out of Atlanta, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) thinks the sport should speak up about unrest in Cuba.

“MLB had strong feelings about ballot dropboxes in Georgia,” Cotton wrote on Twitter. “But they’re silent as Cuba’s murderous regime cracks down on protestors.”

.@MLB had strong feelings about ballot dropboxes in Georgia.

But they’re silent as Cuba’s murderous regime cracks down on protestors.

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) July 15, 2021

Cotton’s take echoes that of NBA critics, who dislike when the league focuses on social issues within their own country, but ignores human rights concerns in China. MLB has similarly engaged in business with China and Cuba.

In recent days, protests broke out in Cuba as thousands of residents are fed up with months of deplorable living conditions that include food and medicine shortages, low Covid vaccinations rates, and power outages. Protests have continued as people demand freedom, despite fear of authorities.

Earlier this year, MLB responded to backlash surrounding recently-passed election law in Georgia by moving their 2021 All-Star game out of Atlanta. The move was criticized by the Republicans, especially considering MLB previously held a exhibition between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuban national team in Havana, despite the country being home to a dictatorship.

While the league is silent on the unrest in Cuba, not all of its players have been. At Tuesday’s MLB All-Star game, New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García both wore hats with messages, “SOS CUBA” and “Patria y Vida.” The messages translate to “homeland and life,” an opposition to “Homeland or Death,” the motto proclaimed by Fidel Castro.