When a sports franchise wears alternate jerseys, it’s usually to boost sales at the souvenir shop. Not this time.
Wednesday night, in their playoff battle against the San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns wore jerseys that said “Los Suns” in celebration of Cinco de Mayo and in protest of a controversial immigration law that recently swept through the Arizona Legislature.
The law, denoted SB 1070 and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last month, is the harshest immigration law in the nation. It authorizes police to stop suspected illegal immigrants and makes it a crime for an immigrant to lack official papers.
Critics say the law encourages racial profiling and will discourage illegal immigrants from reporting crimes. Proponents, who make up as much as 70 percent of Arizona voters according to one poll, say the law will deter illegal border crossings and reduce crime.
Suns captain Steve Nash had harsh words for the law. “I think the law is very misguided,” the All Star guard said after practice on Tuesday. “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.”
President Barack Obama agrees. He called the law “misguided” from the outset, and lashed out at its passing during a Wednesday Cinco de Mayo celebration at the White House. “You can’t turn law abiding American citizens and law abiding immigrants into subjects of suspicion and abuse,” the President said. But he has also suggested Congress isn’t ready to take on such a controversial issue with mid-term elections just months away.
The Suns, however, are ready to act now. The Spurs (and the NBA Players Union) also oppose the law, but the San Antonio franchise couldn’t manufacture “Los Spurs” jerseys fast enough to get them on players by Wednesday night’s game.
“The league is very multicultural,” Nash said of the NBA. “We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us.”
Photo by Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.
