China Commission to MLB, US Firms: Stop Subsidizing China’s Abuses
Commentary
Baseball may seem as American as apple pie, but many of its most popular bats and gloves are made in China and owned by a company implicated in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forced labor abuses.
Just hours before baseball fans were gathering in Seattle for the MLB’s All-Star Game Tuesday, across the country, members of Congress hit the league for continuing to allow Louisville Slugger and Wilson bats and gloves to be used in its games.
In 2018, China-based Anta Sports purchased Finland’s Amer Sports, which owns Louisville Slugger—once considered an all-American brand favored by Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson—as well as Wilson brand sports. Louisville Slugger, founded by manufacturer Hillerich & Bradsby 138 years ago, operates a factory and museum in its namesake Kentucky hometown. But many of its bats have been made in China since 2008….