James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the Georgia Family Council have rallied to block the publicly traded Liberty Media from purchasing the Braves.
Calling Liberty Media Chairman John Malone a “white-collar pornographer,” groups such as Focus on the Family have vowed to stop the sale by raising the specter of public outcry, potentially creating a public relations nightmare for the team and the sport.
"People who have any regard for Major League Baseball in Georgia and Atlanta really should look at Malone," Stephen Adams, associate editor of Focus on the Family’s Citizen magazine, said. "If this happens, what's to stop them from selling a team to Larry Flynt?”
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the current owner, Time Warner, would recoup four percent of its stock from Liberty Media in a tax-free exchange. In return, Liberty would receive some cash and ownership of the Braves. Like Liberty, Time Warner also distributes adult content through its cable operations, a fact not lost on Concerned Women for America Director Tanya Ditty.
"Get the porn industry out, period,” Ditty said. “To me, it's like starting with a fresh slate. Just because they are the current owners doesn't mean their pornography is any better. I don't want to be lining the pockets of the pornography industry with the purchase of Braves tickets.”
Ditty added that her group believes that pornography destroys lives and families.
Adams seconded Ditty’s objection to an adult company having a stake in the nation’s pastime.
"We would prefer that the Atlanta Braves or no team be owned by any pornographer, whether it's Time Warner's questionable business activity or John Malone's questionable business activity," Adams said.
In a Forbes magazine opinion piece lampooning the comparison of Malone to Flynt, writer Greg Levine slammed what he called the “morals watchdogs.”
Writing that the sale of beer, among other practices, means that Major League Baseball is far from a “spotless” business with or without pornography, Levine couldn’t help but point out what he sees as hypocrisy.
“For the happy habitués of Turner Field and its future owners, not to mention summer picnickers, perhaps it's a good thing the FOTF, GFC and CWA don't see evil in that ballpark classic, a tall frosty one,” Levine said.
Baseball owners could consider the bid from Liberty Media as early as their scheduled Aug. 8-10 meeting in New York.
