Sports & Politics?!

Los Suns and the Inmigración Law de Arizona

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

The Statue of Liberty (and of course, the United States) has always stood as a beacon of hope and a symbol of freedom to the entire world. We must never forget that. That is what makes this country great. Our diversity gives us strength.

BUT…please, come here legally and don’t break our laws!

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Arizona’s new immigration law, and illegal immigration is expected to soon be tackled by President Obama. So once again, I just thought I’d voice my opinion. I also welcome any comments, ideas, suggestions, etc…

Basically it comes down to this. Immigration=good. Illegal immigration=bad. Racism/racial profiling=worse.

For those of you who don’t know, the law basically allows law enforcement officials to stop anyone they believe to be illegal immigrants, and force them to show documents that prove otherwise. In other words, if you look at all like a Latino you could be stopped by the police for no other reason than that! My own brother, who happens to get very tan in the summer time, once got pulled over for speeding and the highway patrolman listed “Latino” as his race on the ticket. My ancestors are from Sweden! So, my brother who apparently looks Latino could even be targeted in this mess. What a joke.

 But, after receiving a lot of backlash for condoning (perhaps inadvertently) racial profiling, they changed the law to include stricter requirements so that police officers could only request registration documents if they had committed some other crime or violation. Here are the details of the law. http://www.azimmigrationcompliance.com/

In my point of view, racial profiling is bigotry at its worst. Just yesterday, I heard the story of a police officer here in Utah who deliberately drives down the freeway looking for beater cars full of Mexicans, and pulls them over for no reason. That is ridiculous and incredibly offensive!

However, I by no means condone illegal immigration. But why do they come here in the first place? Because there are jobs here, and the promise of a better life. The solution? Attack the root of the problem – the employers. Crack down on the companies that are breaking the law by employing illegal immigrants and put them out of business. Take away the motivation for coming here in the first place. And of course, by cracking down on crime and drug trafficking you're sure to find an illegal immigrant or two that you could deport, rather than keep in our already overcrowded and underfunded prisons.

One thing I hear all the time is “well I shouldn’t have to pay for their healthcare with my tax money when they’re here illegally!” Fine. But mass deportation and racial profiling are NOT the solution. Perhaps an ER visit could also be one of those times when it is perfectly justifiable to ask for proof of citizenship. But don’t deny them healthcare in emergency situations, that would just be inhumane. Treat anything life-threatening, then have the government send them to a hospital in their home country.

I can understand why Arizona would want to pass a law like this, because illegal immigration is a big problem. But my biggest problem with this law (other than the fact that I think it was spawned out of bigotry and fear) is that in the end, it will solve nothing. If they can’t go to Arizona, they’ll just go to California or Texas or some other state. Any solution needs to be federal, and include all states.

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (though it’s ironically not widely celebrated in Mexico), and the Phoenix Suns decided to make a political statement by sporting their Los Suns jerseys. Kudos to them and to the NBA! Just like the United States is a giant melting pot of many nations, the NBA has players from 26 different countries. So I applaud them for embracing our diversity. On a side note, CNN reported that they even have a Latin-born player, Leandro Barbosa. Don’t tell him he’s Latin-born, because he’s from Brazil! Newsflash CNN: Brazilians speak Portuguese and are not Latino! Nice work on that one.

Everyone on the team voted unanimously to wear the jerseys.Here's what the players and NBA officials had to say about the team wearing its "Los Suns" jerseys for Wednesday night's Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs "to honor [the] Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation." 

Suns owner Robert Sarver: 

Sarver said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

"However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question," he said, "and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

Steve Nash (who, on a side note, is Canadian)

"I think it's fantastic," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "I think the law is very misguided. I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it's very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich even tried to get their "Los Spurs" jerseys, although it was too late. 

Furthermore, NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter issued a press release, denouncing the law.

The recent passage of the new immigration law in Arizona is disappointing and disturbing. The National Basketball Players Association strongly supports the repeal or immediate modification of this legislation. Any attempt to encourage, tolerate or legalize racial profiling is offensive and incompatible with basic notions of fairness and equal protection. A law that unfairly targets one group is ultimately a threat to all.

We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers. We are consulting with our members and our player leadership to determine the most effective way for our union to continue to voice our opposition to this legislation.

I'm sure lots of people won't care what the NBA and its players have to say bout the issue...as for me, I love sports and I love politics, so this has been the ideal topic to write about! And I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about the issue.