WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, baseball fans opposed to Arizona’s harsh and discriminatory anti-immigrant law gathered outside the Washington Nationals vs. Chicago White Sox game to protest the law and called on Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All-Star game out of Phoenix. The fans in protest support the players, managers, and the MLB Players Association who have expressed opposition to Arizona’s immigration enforcement law because it will lead to widespread racial profiling, costly lawsuits, and unfair burdens on local law enforcement. They want the League, which crossed the color line with Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige, to take a strong principled stand against the law.

“Major League Baseball and Commissioner Selig should stand up for the hundreds of players who form the backbone of today’s game, yet whose appearance and last names put them at risk of being stopped by law enforcement every time they play in Arizona,” said Rich Stolz, Campaign Manager for Reform Immigration FOR America. “Holding the 2011 All-Star Game in a state where players and their families, as well as fans, are not welcome is an insult to the millions of fans and consumers who embrace baseball as our national pastime. Having the game in Phoenix also shows a lack of support to the thirty percent of major league baseball players who are Latino.”

Tonight’s protest is one of many that will occur at games all over the country and part of a national escalation of efforts to remove the All-Star game from Arizona. Organizers have planned several future protests and have asked supporters and baseball fans to show their solidarity by asking Selig to do what is right and move the game.

Moving the game is not unprecedented. The NCAA does not allow post-season events—including the Final Four—in states that fly the Confederate flag. And the NFL tangled with Arizona in the early 1990s over its refusal to recognize the MLK, Jr. holiday and ended up pulling the 1993 Super Bowl from Arizona. For its part, MLB faced down bigotry and Jim Crow laws to integrate their leagues before most American institutions, including the U.S. Military.

“Baseball plays a unique cultural role in America and should stand up for their players and fans to ensure that everyone is welcome at America’s Game.” Moving the game is neither unusual nor unprecedented,” continued Stolz. “Those institutions took steps in defense and support of their players and fans despite the fact that there was no direct threat to their safety. Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, on the other hand, is a direct threat. Selig and MLB should take action, and move the game.”

###

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN: The Reform Immigration FOR America campaign is a coalition of more than 800 faith, labor, business, progressive, and immigration reform groups that have joined together to get comprehensive immigration reform passed. For more information please visit www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org or www.reformamigratoriaproamerica.org