The Phoenix Suns Will Make A Bold Statement Against Unjust Arizona Immigration Law

It is not an official NBA move, necessarily, but the Phoenix Suns are doing their part to combat an unjust (some say racist) law designed to target illegal immigration in Arizona.

The Suns, the professional basketball team based in Phoenix, will be wearing “Los Suns” jerseys (with the name in Spanish) on Wednesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals round of the playoffs on Cinco de Mayo. From a protest standpoint, this is a good start and the Suns are to be commended for their willingness to step forward and make this gesture. Although, it will be interesting to see how it is received when the team takes the court. Generally, in sports, when the home team wins - all is forgiven. Still, what is perhaps most interesting about this move is that the owner of the Suns, Robert Sarver, is apparently a Republican.

Here is what Sarver said in a statement released by the franchise:

"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

Sarver has stated that this move is indeed a political statement. It's fantastic to see individuals involved in professional sports taking a stand against issues of great importance. This issue is too important for those involved in professional sports to sit on the bench or rest in the dugout.

The Arizona Republic: The bill, SB 1070, makes it a crime for a person to not have immigration documents and empowers law enforcement

agencies to question about the status of people based on "reasonable suspicion."

More Far-Right Extremism In The News … This Time It’s Hal Turner

The infamous Hal Turner, a Neo-Nazi commentator through various mediums, finds himself in some hot water again these days:

CHICAGO, June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/– Hal Turner, an intermittent Internet radio talk show host and blogger, was arrested today by FBI agents at his home in North Bergen, N.J., on a federal complaint filed in Chicago alleging that he made Internet postings threatening to assault and murder three federal appeals court judges in Chicago in retaliation for their recent ruling upholding handgun bans in Chicago and a suburb.

Turner, who has had an association over the years with Fox News conservative host Sean Hannity, was cuffed up by the Feds.

Yeah, it was interesting when all of those people slammed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the Obama Administration for the release of the report on extremism.

Included in the report was this:

Gun-related violence: “Heightened interest in legislation for tighter firearms…may be invigorating rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements.”

More on Hal Turner from Wikipedia:

Harold Charles “Hal” Turner is an American white nationalist and white supremacist from North Bergen, New Jersey. He runs his program, The Hal Turner Show, as a webcast from his home once a week, and depends on donations from his listeners. He quit the show in July 2008 and resumed in April 2009. In August 2008 his website also closed down, though he retains a blog, though currently that presence was shut down by his host, Google’s Blogger, for violations of terms of service.