Sports and Arizona boycotts seem to go hand in hand, don't they? During the MLK Day boycott, the NFL moved the Super Bowl out of Arizona in protest. Already many fans (including myself) have written Major League Baseball asking them to move the 2011 All Star Game out of Phoenix over the racial-profiling law.
One person who has now taken a stand against the bill is Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver.
In announcing that the Suns would wear their "Los Suns" jerseys in recognition of playing Game 2 against San Antonio on Cinco de Mayo on Wednesday, Sarver also addressed the immigration bill that has been a divisive national topic since Gov. Jan Brewer enacted it into law April 23.
"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law," Sarver said in a statement released by the Suns on Tuesday morning. "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."
You may ask, is this how the owner truly feels, or is it just posturing? It wouldn't be posturing to the state's population; a new poll released today shows 52% of Arizonans still support this bill, garnering majority support among Caucasians, Republicans, and Independents.
This also takes place on Cinco de Mayo, but the owners could have gotten away with just saying "we'll wear the Los Suns uniforms in celebration of Cinco de Mayo" without delving into the political scene.
"I looked around our plane and looked at our players and the diversity in our organization," Sarver said. "I thought we need to go on record that we honor our diversity in our team, in the NBA and we need to show support for that. As for the political part of that, that's my statement."
Of course, fans of other teams have noticed the diverse and international nature of the Suns team as well.
(thanks to skywaker9 for the pic)
Always good to thank high-profile supporters, especially in Arizona right now.