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Today's Top News
All-Star Speak Out: Baseball Players Pledge to Boycott Arizona All Star Game
If Major League Baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game is held as planned in
the anti-immigrant “meth lab of democracy” otherwise known as Arizona,
players are letting it be known that the show will go on without them. On
Monday's media day for this week's 2010 game in Anaheim, several
Latino All-Stars were asked for their thoughts about next year’s game
taking place in a state being monitored by the justice department for
racial profiling.
''If the game is in Arizona, I will totally boycott," said
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Kansas City reliever Joakim
Soria and Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Valverde seconded that emotion.
''They could stop me and ask to see my papers. I have to stand with my
Latin community on this,” said Soria.
Other even more prominent players didn’t call for a boycott, but
they made their feelings exceedingly clear. Major League home run
leader, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista said, ''Hopefully,
there are some changes in the law before [next year]. We have to back up
our Latin communities.''
The biggest star in the game, Albert Pujols, came
out in direct opposition to his Arizona-law-loving manager Tony
LaRussa, saying, "I'm opposed to it. How are you going to tell me that,
me being Hispanic, if you stop me and I don't have my ID, you're going
to arrest me? That can't be.''
A spokesperson for the Baseball Players Association also made news
by saying they would fully back any player who chose to boycott the 2011
game.
This flurry of commentary in this most staid of sports threatens to overshadow Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic and spotlight the political and moral impotence of Major League commissioner Bud Selig. Selig refused to comment on the issue today and his one statement all season on the issue managed to be both puzzling and inane . (After much analysis, it was determined that Selig wants the game to stay in Arizona.) Selig's constant crutch of no-comments may be coming to an abrupt end.
The sports media wasn’t asking about immigration out of concern for the 28% of Major Leaguers born outside the United States. They were probing the actual political thoughts of players because of a very real, growing movement of civil rights and grass roots organizations calling on MLB to move the game.
On Monday morning, the organization movethegame.org held a press conference where they showcased more than 100,000 names who had signed their petition calling on Major League Baseball to act. A protest has also been called for Tuesday at 3pm right at Angel Stadium, on all American Gene Autry Way in Anaheim.
As Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Janet Murguia is president of the National Council of La Raza wrote in an oped on Alternet, “Unless the league acts, next year our favorite all-stars could enter a hostile environment, and the families, friends and fans of a third of the players could be treated as second-class citizens because of their skin color or the way they speak…. We are not asking Selig to weigh in on immigration policy; we are asking him to take a stand against bigotry and intolerance. Despite being petitioned by numerous members of Congress and civil rights, labor and social justice groups, Selig has not adequately addressed the issue.”
He certainly has not. But if civil rights activists keep up the pressure on the outside and players keep speaking out on the inside, Selig will have no choice but to make perfectly clear where he stands on the most basic civil rights of his own players. If the NFL could move the Super Bowl from Arizona two decades ago because they wouldn’t acknowledge Martin Luther King’s birthday; if the NCAA can keep post-season tournaments out of states that still fly the confederate flag, then Bud Selig can wipe that hang-dog look off his face, straighten his back, and do the right thing. If not for the people, he can do it for Pujols.
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34 Comments so far
Show AllNow if they would just boycott the steroid dealers.
It's not just the Latino players who need to speak out/up. This law targets anyone who is stopped and some eager law enforcement official thinks they don't look American enough. The Asian-looking players need to recognize they may be next on the list and join in. Ichiro, let's hear from you.
But even those whose European-looking ancestry seems to give them a 'get out of jail free' card, regardless of where they might actually be from, ought to be lending support to the movement to move the 2011 All-Star Game away from Arizona, not because they might be in jeopardy, but because it would be the right thing to do.
God, please quit being so paranoid. If you're illegal, get out and go home.
I wish the editors would keep this sports crap off CD. There are (2) stories here today and guess what? Nobody cares. Let ESPN and everybody else publish this stuff.
What's next? ET at CD?
I think he meant Entertainment Tonight. Not the cuddly little alien from Spielberg. A bit hostile tonight aren't we?
Tell that to the family of the Arizona rancher in Douglas, Arizona who was coldblooded murdered trying to protect his land and family from a bunch of folks who don't belong here in the first place. Maybe if Mexico started working on bringing their standard of living up to par, Arizona wouldn't have this problem....oh yeah they are...they sent my job to Mexico....sorry....I'll shut up.
Why don't you try fixing Mexico. That is where the majority of Arizona's illegals come from. All your typed drivvle is meaningless.
Puedo ver tu persona, que tiene de herencia latina. No tengo nada en contra de su presencia. Yo relise que desea que su país vuelva de que algunos individuos blancos que tomó de camino de regreso cuando. Soy nativo americano, y se atornilla a mi pueblo también. Pero como pueden ver, estos mismos hombres blancos se encuentran todavía en ella. Esto no tiene nada que ver con el racismo mi amigo, esto tiene que ver con estos hombres blancos sacudidas You and Me alrededor. Queremos que nuestra patria de nuevo. Así que en lugar de luchar contra nosotros, vamos a ir a buscar a los autores, y recibe la tierra nuestra espalda.
This flurry of commentary in this most staid of sports . . .
Looking for a "staid" sport? Try golf where all, or nearly all, the athletes are Republicans. There was a time when Tom Watson was the only registered Democrat among PGA tour golfers. While you're at it, check out polo, yachting and maybe even tennis. The Latino ballplayers in MLB should all boycott next year's so-called All Star Game. This would probably make the majority of Arizonans happy. They would then demand that all black and Asian players stay away too and allow only caucasians to be "All Stars". Don't hold your breath waiting for that dull, knuckle dragging jerk, Bud Selig, to move the game out of Arizona. Selig is George Wanker Bush.
This isn't a sports story. It's a story about labor and racism. These things happen in the realm of sports as well as in other realms.
What's wrong with boycotting any and all BB games scheduled in Arizona THIS year?
The 'maybe next year ' dos not cut it !
Exactly.
Next year might be too long to have any impact.
How long could MLB sustain the pressure of all Arizona games being boycotted?
Maybe the Diamondbacks could be flown to the opponent's area to play exhibition games at local high schools. Arizona might cave in before winter/instructional league starts.
I find sports really boring, but Dave Zirin keeps pointing out interesting political aspects I never think of.
I really recommend watching the debate he had with Arun Gupta on the topic of whether sports is boring:
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/7/6/are_sports_boring_arun_gupta_debates_dave_zirin
I enjoyed the debate, but someone set a bogus issue (Are sports boring?) to be debated. It should have been something like: Should professional sports be scaled down in our society, and how? Zirin could talk about the difficulty of stopping corporate control and exploitation of sport, and Gupta could counter with the importance of sport/recreation participation opportunities for all and how communities can still have professional sport entertainment on a smaller scale (without corporate degradation to the level of stock, finance, and insurance scams).
Yes, I should have mentioned the topic was pretty tongue in cheek. I enjoyed the lighthearted tone, and Zirin is kind of funny. He's a good ambassador for sports, like the Crocodile Hunter - with an infectious enthusiasm, making me see beauty in things I ordinarily consider icky.
What I got out of the talk was that it was not really sports that are bad, but the misuse of sports, sort of like government. Although their misuse is endemic, so I remain bored with sports as we know it. But interested in Zirin's perspective on it.
I loved watching the world cup. The passion and atmosphere broadcasts very well and can't be beat, but if they scaled it all way down, one could still find the passion in a local youth league.
I've never played local league softball, but people that do probably have some good ideas about what is really important about sport.
I once joined a team in a tug-of-war tournament to compete for the best-of-the-town honors.
When out walking locally, a neighborhood dog and I have a regular game going that looks vaguely like soccer free kicks. We both seem to have a blast.
How about pick-up sport games (volleyball, basketball, any sport)? Has anyone seen "And1 Basketball"? This broad spectrum of sport is important and more thrilling than commercial sport.
Surfing is a better model for the good in sport than is commercial sport. Surf competitions are a relatively miniscule part the greater world of "Surfing". They are sometimes broadcast and some people play, pay, and follow it all, but it is really more about who is doing what and having fun at any given moment.
Sports provide focus, goals, and motivation to keep people moving for their health. And yes, health returns can be diminished and reversed.
If the Baseball Players are loyal to the USA they should
boycott all Corporations that benefit from Nafta.
They would not have the backbone or the intelligence.
Tell that to the family of the Arizona rancher in Douglas, Arizona who was coldblooded murdered trying to protect his land and family from a bunch of folks who don't belong here in the first place. Maybe if Mexico started working on bringing their standard of living up to par, Arizona wouldn't have this problem....oh yeah they are...they sent my job to Mexico....sorry....I'll shut up.
What is this, "Rob Krentz owned a huge ranch where a woman died of thirst there, too." This has nothing to do with illegal immigration. Your mouth overflows with trivial trash. You are the big cry baby. Still having problems with the rules. Thats part of life, grow up.
Excuse me but the General Motors plant in my town shut down and moved to Mexico. No, I wasn't a G.M. employee, but the company I did work for delievered trailers to them. And since G.M shut down, they shut down the place I was working. This isn't about RACISM, this is about keeping the integrity of our country intact. The Mexicans are here Ilegally, if they want to come here to work, let them go through the same red tape that EVERY immigrant has to go through. Sneaking across the border is NOT RIGHT..PERIOD.
I respect players who refuse to support racism in Arizona.