The Center for New Community flew this banner over Wrigley Field on Sunday in protest of the racial profiling law in Arizona. All over the country, baseball fans and players alike are speaking out about the new law. The Working Families Party in New York is asking the Yankees and Mets to boycott the 2011 All-Star game, currently scheduled to take place in Phoenix. And back in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, fans protested at the first game of the Cubs’ series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. (For the record: the Cubs won the series.)

Last week the Major League Baseball Players Association released this statement:

The impact of the bill signed into law in Arizona last Friday is not limited to the players on one team. The international players on the Diamondbacks work and, with their families, reside in Arizona from April through September or October. In addition, during the season, hundreds of international players on opposing Major League teams travel to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks. And, the spring training homes of half of the 30 Major League teams are now in Arizona. All of these players, as well as their families, could be adversely affected, even though their presence in the United States is legal. Each of them must be ready to prove, at any time, his identity and the legality of his being in Arizona to any state or local official with suspicion of his immigration status. This law also may affect players who are U.S. citizens but are suspected by law enforcement of being of foreign descent.

Individual players are speaking out as well. San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, a two-time All-Star, says he’ll boycott the 2011 All-Star game.

“I’ll support the Players Association 100 percent,” said Gonzalez, who grew up in both Tijuana and a suburb south of San Diego. “If they leave it up to the players and the law is still there, I’ll probably not play in the All-Star Game. Because it’s a discriminating law.

“I know it can’t be done, but they should take spring training out of (Arizona) if it’s possible.”

Gonzalez is referring to the Cactus League, whose 15 teams operate out of Arizona during spring training. Major League Baseball spends a lot of money on its spring training program in Arizona, and fans from all over the country come down to see their teams get ready for the season. If MLB decided to stand with its players to boycott the state, they’d be making a powerful statement for justice.

Yesterday Karen Russell, daughter of basketball legend Bill Russell, called for all sports players’ unions to join the MLBPA in denouncing the new Arizona law. Why? On ESPN’s morning talk radio show, Mike Golic asked, “Do you think a sport should care about what’s going on outside the world of sports and that that would impact their decision?”. The answer is that sports already do. When the NFL pulled the Super Bowl from Arizona in 1993, it sent the message that football didn’t tolerate racism. Athletes are more than just people who play sports. They’re our icons and heroes. The players and coaches who’ve spoken out against hate in Arizona are proving that they understand the true definition of sportsmanship: standing up for fairness.

Categories: Illinois, immigrant rights, Uncategorized

Tags: arizona boycott, baseball boycott, cubs protest, SB 1070