Georgia, Alabama lower flags to honor Hank Aaron

ATLANTA - The states of Georgia and Alabama have lowered its flags to half-staff to honor baseball great Hank Aaron, who died Friday.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp made the announcement and share the executive order on his Twitter account.

The order calls for the flags in Georgia to fly at half staff until the day of Aaron's funeral.

FULL COVERAGE: Remembering Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron

In the tweet, Kem wrote:

"May generations of Georgians continue to be inspired by his groundbreaking career and tremendous impact on our state and nation."

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey also order her state's flags to be lower to honor Aaron, a Mobile native. She expressed sympathy to relatives, friends, and former teammates of the sports legend.

"Alabama is incredibly proud of our native son, and his legacy will forever be etched in history," she said in a statement.

Born in 1934 when Alabama was still racially segregated by law, Aaron faced racism as a Black man in the sport despite his incredible talent. Aaron has a minor league baseball stadium named in his honor in Mobile, and his childhood home was moved to the site and is a museum.

MORE: Tributes pour in honoring the legendary Hank Aaron

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson sent a tweet saying he was saddened by Aaron’s death.

"He represented the best of our City as a humanitarian, business leader, philanthropist, and a national baseball icon. We join so many in mourning his loss and honoring his legacy," it said.

Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1974 while playing with the Atlanta Braves and was later surpassed by Barry Bonds, was 86.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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