As more and more baseball players are taking a stand against Arizona's new law, SB1070, there is increasing pressure on Major League Baseball to boycott the state and move the 2011 All Star game to another state.
From the Restore Fairness blog.
A week ago we had given a shout out to all the baseball players who were taking a stand against Arizona’s new anti-immigration legislation, SB1070. Baseball plays a large role in the culture in Arizona, and given that 27% of baseball players are Latino, it is no surprise that players like National League star Adrian Gonzalez see the new law as a violation of human rights, and by extension, an assault on baseball culture.
Given that the next All-Star game is scheduled to be held in Phoenix, Arizona in 2011, there has been a lot of buzz about the sport making a statement by boycotting Arizona and moving the game to another state as long as the racist law continues to be in effect. As more and more stars have said that they will boycott the All-Star game if it takes place in Arizona, there has has been increasing pressure on the commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), Bud Selig, to move the game to another state. Senator Robert Menendez, the only Hispanic-American in the Senate, has been urging players to boycott the 2011 All-Star game to protest the law. He wrote a letter to the executive director of the MLB Players Association, Micheal Weiner thanking him for issuing a statement against the law and urging him to take a stand against SB1070. His letter reads-
The Arizona law is offensive to Hispanics and all Americans because it codifies racial profiling into law by requiring police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally. As you and I both know, Major League Baseball (M.L.B.) is truly a multicultural, international sport...Imagine if your players and their families were subjected to interrogation by law enforcement, simply because they look a certain way..That would truly be an embarrassment and an injustice, not only to M.L.B., but to the values and ideals we hold as Americans.
On a call held yesterday, Latino advocacy and immigrant rights groups came together with labor groups and progressive bloggers to officially call on MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to move the upcoming All-Star game from Arizona. Additionally, they urged teams to re-locate their spring training sessions to a different place in the country. A letter was sent to Bud Selig asking for his support in the sport’s boycott of the unjust law. It said-
In this moment of crisis, these players – and baseball’s millions of Latino and immigrant fans – deserve a loud and clear message that the league finds this law unacceptable.
In order to take this forward, Presente.org and Fenton Communications have started a campaign called "Move the Game," which has a list of players from the MLB who have spoken out against the law, as well as a petition urging the MLB Association to take action by moving the game from Arizona and sending a clear message to Arizona lawmakers. Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, Clarissa Martinez of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and John Amato, founder of the blog, Crooks and Liars, made statementsabout the need for Bud Selig to break his silence and speak out on behalf of the community of players by boycotting the law. Doug Gordon, the founder of Move the Game said that the campaign had already received 100,000 signatures. Speaking about the economic impact this could potentially have for the state, he said-
We believe it is time for Major League Baseball to step up to the plate, follow the precedent set by the NFL in the early 1990’s, and move the game. Bud Selig may think he can ignore the fans and his players but we are betting he can’t ignore the All Star Game’s corporate sponsors. They will be our next target.
So if you’re a baseball fan and you believe in the values of diversity, integrity and respect that symbolize American culture, sign the petition to tell Bud Selig to boycott Arizona by moving the All Star game to a state that is more cognizant of those values.
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