All-Star Game boycott sought to protest Ariz. law

All-Star Game boycott sought to protest Ariz. law

ca.reuters.com

The only Latino in the Senate urged Major League Baseball players on Monday to boycott the 2011 All-Star game in Arizona to protest the state's tough new immigration law.

"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," New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez wrote Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.breitbart.com

This is getting nuts. But this boycott may actually just work. Imagine if no Latino all-stars showed up, never mind none of the All-Stars period. That potentially means no A-Rod, Pujols, Cabrera, etc,etc.

It would really be punishing the MLB for choosing the venue before the bill passed but nonetheless, it would garner major attention nation-wide, and in the state. If Arizona's citizens and legislature begins to realize they are losing major business over this law, maybe they'll think twice about it.

It's a shame the Union can't see eye to eye at all lately.

ca.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I personally think that politics (like the Arizona bill) in sports is just plain stupid. I don't know if this would actually work, or if it will go anywhere. I don't really watch the MLB, so I don't know if anything like this has ever been successful before.

Not too long ago the NBA team, the Phoenix Suns, protested against the bill. (Suns will wear "Los Suns" Jerseys as part of Arizona immigration bill protest). I don't know if it really had much of an impact on anything, other than a lot of people talking about it.

Assuming there is solidarity among Mexican-, Venezuelan-, Puerto Rican-, Cuban-, Dominican Republican-, Honduran-, etc.-Americans, it might actually make a more-noticable protest than usual.
However, it could be a huge backfire when A-Rod (Dominican parentage but born in New York, NY), Mariano Rivera (Panamanian), Albert Pujols (Dominican), etc.. take the field and collect their fat paychecks and notoriety. I don't think there are any Mexican or Mexican-American MLB players that would even be on the All-Star roster.
Nomar Garciaparra is still playing as is Eric Chavez so it's possible.

Did you know that baseball legend Ted Williams was Mexican-American? Perhaps the greatest player ever.

Of course Fernando Valenzuela and Lefty Gomez have left legacies honoring Mexico and MLB.

Edit to add:
I forgot to mention Michael Young of the Rangers. He's made the All-Star game 5 out of past 6 years. He was born in the US but his mother is of Mexican-American descent, as is his wife. He is cousin to former WBO Light Welterweight Zack Padilla.

[edit on 10-5-2010 by primus2012]

reply to post by Portugoal


There is absolutely no profiling mentioned or suggested in the AZ legislation. If some people want to boycott the All-Star game, then let them do it. There will be plenty of players left to chose from to play the game.

It is amazing how free you are to criticize AZ and US citizens, especially since Canada seems to have an ethnic war between English-speaking and French speaking residents. Maybe you should clean up your own country before you criticize the US.

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


Ethnic war. That's hilarious. Maybe you should know a little more about my country before you comment on it. There is no ethnic war.

And I'm not even necessarily against the bill. So long as it isn't enforced pervertedly, I think it's alright to protect the State.

But if this were to actually happen (the MLBPA boycott) I'm sure it would turn enough heads around in Arizona. Maybe then, citizens would worry about the economic consequences the bill brings to the State.

reply to post by primus2012


nomar is a sportscaster on ESPN now and eric chavez is nowheres near being an all-star.. politics should stay out of sports, period. this attempt by the only latino in the senate to bring his "race war" to the diamond is just plain stupid.

reply to post by Portugoal

Ethnic war. That's hilarious. Maybe you should know a little more about my country before you comment on it. There is no ethnic war.

Tell that to the 1,520,000 results from Google on "Canada ethnic war".
Here is one of many:
www.lotsofessays.com...

Canadian Ethnic Conflict

The Canadian experience of ethnic conflict in a democratic context has been one more complex than a casual observer might believe. There are a number of different political structures in place that have prevented a solution. The Quebec situation mirrors to a degree the situation of Canada as a whole, a country with a relatively loose confederation of provinces, regions with distinct interests and differing histories. At the same time, the Quebec situation differs in that the major difference is language, with the French speakers of Quebec desirous of a government separate from the English-speaking central government of Canada.

McGarry and O'Leary discuss regional and ethnic conflicts in terms of the two ways of coping with them--eliminating differences, or managing differences. At one time, it might have been hoped in Canada that the linguistic differences would disappear. We have seen efforts in the United States in recent years to avoid this sort of problem by insisting on English only at the level of government. In Canada, linguistic differences were essentially institutionalized through the means taken to manage differences, such as consociationalism. Many of the means taken elsewhere to eliminate differences have involved violence and forced mass movements, which Canada has avoided by undertaking to manage differences. The problem now is that much of the French-speaking population in Quebec is seeking a different solution--secession and self-determination.

Please don't advocate revisionist history. Furthermore, I spent a considerable amount of time in Canada, and attended meetings where the French speaking citizens from Quebec sat on one side of the room, and the Anglophones sat on the other. At breaks, it was very obvious that they did not like each other, and in fact, at lunch, I sat with the Anglophones that said that they had no use for their French-speaking citizens.

Stop making this AZ law about Hispanics. It is not. It is about ILLEGAL aliens who have entered our country. Many of them are drug smugglers, terrorists and common criminals. Canada is fortunate that it has a border with the US, and the US citizens are not running to cross into Canada. If the roles were reversed, I doubt you would be taking the position you take. Walk a mile in our shoes. You might see this in a different light.

I am a Hispanic American, second generation, of Mexican/Spanish descent..
This guy DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME because I definitely have no qualms with this law if it is properly implemented. DO NOT KNOCK IT until you try it...Let us see how the law goes...
My view is that it will just give these illegals amnesty.....
BTW, I live in El Paso, Texas, I wonder how many illegals are here?

I don't think there will be major business loss from a baseball all-star game boycott. If the players truly wanted to make a statement, they'd sit out regular-season games or even playoff games. The all-star game is for-the-most-part meaningless and optional for the players.
Folks will still gather to see the likes of Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter (not latino), Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Konerko, Wells, Johnson, Reynolds, Utley, etc..
Athletes protesting by changing jerseys or wearing non-league approved accessories is very lame IMO. They get a league-sanctioned fine and nothing else. They won't risk their contracts and sponsors by doing more.

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


Like I said I'm not against the law in general.

Secondly, I LIVE in Canada. I'm exposed to the French language daily. On top of that, I'm exposed to hundreds of other languages just walking through the cities. Canada is a multicultural country. Not one culture. Not two. Not three (aboriginals included). But hundreds.

Now, Quebec may be a little tense that they are considered one of many other cultures, but it is not an ethnic war as your google search suggests.

Btw, you know what I just googled? "what do i do when my time machine is full" I got 87,500,000 results.

tiny.cc...

Let's not derail the thread now.

[edit on 10-5-2010 by Portugoal]

reply to post by primus2012


Actually the MLB All-Star game is the only one to actually mean something. It determines who gets homefield advantage in the World Series, AL or NL.

I'm sure it would be very widely covered however. Shock factor is more important than anything else during a boycott. This would make other businesses wonder if they should do the same to look like they support the "Mexican fight against opression." And it would get Arizona to wonder if they should repeal the law to avoid economic drawbacks in fear of copy cat actions.

You're right about shock factor, and MSNBC and CNN would exploit the situation to their leftist-agenda's extremity. (as O'Reilly shrugs and says "nah who cares anyway"?).

Yes. And the sensationalists will bring strip the US of its only real fight against illegal immigration since no one (not the Fed or any State) else wants to put themselves up to the task.

If multi-billion $$ businesses start pulling away from Arizona, even these one-off events, like an All-Star game, I would not be suprised to see it sensationalised in the MSM, and the bill revoked entirely in reponse to the potential backlash.

There's no way the MLB will pull the All-Star game from AZ or that any of the players will refuse to play. That would assume professional athletes have a backbone....and they don't. There's too much $ involved for a player to back out.

Sports and politics are not meant to mix - sports are supposed to distract the population from politics, just like they did in Roman times. (And it works, too).

But they do mix. Remember when congress got involved.
en.wikipedia.org...

I'm sure at least one player will have the backbone to do it. Evidently, people get really proud about where they come from. And that player can probably get more money (sponsorships from groups that like what he's doing) from boycotting the game, than playing in it. And THEN this will become a big issue. One player boycotts the game and it would be important news.

Maybe if the NHL threatens to pull the Pheonix Coyotes out of Arizona, that's when the State would really feel like they need to reform their own reformed bill.