The so-called progressive left is proving once again that they do not care about black people. Major League Baseball’s (MLB) reversal of its decision to host its All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia, is yet another example demonstrating that the hard left is more interested in empty virtue-signaling than in supporting African Americans.

MLB decided to pull this year’s All-Star Game and its amateur draft out of Georgia due to its recently-passed voting legislation designed to curb voter fraud and other issues. The move came amid deceptive claims of racism and voter suppression coming from left-wing politicians, leaders, and members of the activist media.

RedState’s Brad Slager reported:

Following the prodding by President Biden, Major League Baseball made the announcement Friday afternoon that it is taking punitive action against the state of Georgia and the citizens of Atlanta. Commissioner Robert Manfred released a statement that the League has decided to pull this year’s All-Star Game, as well as the MLB amateur draft out of the state.

But what most on the left are ignoring is the notion that MLB might believe it is punishing the state of Georgia with their decision to withdraw the All-Star Game, but in reality, they are punishing those they claim they are trying to help.

In supporting MLB’s actions, people like President Joe Biden, who publicly lauded the idea of this decision, are ignoring the fact that the organization is punishing black businesses that would benefit greatly from the revenue that would be generated by the event.

All-Star games tend to create a significant revenue boost for the businesses in the cities in which the events are held. When the game was held in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2019, it generated tens of millions of dollars.

David Gilbert, who leads the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland told WKYC Studios, “It means significant dollars. $65 million in new money that will be spent by tens of thousands of people coming in from the outside.”

Atlanta, which was recently ranked as one of the top five, best cities for black-owned businesses, has a high population of black entrepreneurs and small business owners. About 30 percent of its businesses are owned by African Americans. MLB’s decision means that these companies will not reap the benefits that an All-Star game can bring.

The situation becomes even more pronounced when one takes into account the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown orders. The pandemic hit black-owned businesses far harder than others.

From CBS News:

An H&R Block survey of almost 3,000 small businesses found that 53% of Black business owners saw their revenue drop by half, compared to 37% of White owners, since the pandemic started. Black business owners also had more trouble establishing an online presence for their company and were more likely to have customers submit late payments, the survey said.

The Wall Street Journal noted a study showing that 41% of black-owned businesses were forced to shut down in April 2020. Economist Robert Fairlie was quoted in the piece, saying: “This study provides the first estimates of the early-stage effects of COVID-19 on small-business owners.” He added: “The number of working business owners plummeted from 15 million in February 2020 to 11.7 million in April 2020.”

It is unlikely that MLB’s leadership is unaware of the impact an All-Star game could have on the black-owned businesses, as well as other businesses that might need a boost after a devasting 2020. However, as with other corporations who virtue signal for dollars, their concern is not for black Americans — it is for their bottom line.

The company’s stand against Georgia’s voting laws is not based on principle; it is nothing more than empty posturing designed to curry favor with a hard-left social media, crybully horde that cares nothing for the black community. They are concerned that refusing to involve the organization in politics will hurt their revenue, so they are throwing black businesses under the proverbial bus — proving once again that white progressives do not care about black people.