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."
