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Baseball’s Arizona Problem

Posted May 1, 2010 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Hate Watch

With more than one-in-four Major Leaguers of Latino ancestry, baseball is on the front lines of the fight over Arizona’s new anti-immigrant law.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are being boycotted in their home state and have been met by protesters as they travel across the the U.S. because their ownership has backed the politicians who passed the anti-immigrant law.

In addition, nearly half of MLB’s teams have spring training in Arizona and many have extensive facilities there.

Next year’s All-Star game is planned for Arizona. Efforts to get MLB to move it are underway.

The Major League Baseball Player’s Association blasted the law saying:

“The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written,” the union’s executive director Michael Weiner said in a statement. “We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly. If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.”

Weiner said he arrived at his position after consulting with the union’s members, about 30 percent of whom are Hispanic…

“Their contributions to our sport have been invaluable, and their exploits have been witnessed, enjoyed and applauded by millions of Americans,” Weiner said. “All of them, as well as the clubs for whom they play, have gone to great lengths to ensure full compliance with federal immigration law.”

And it isn’t just players and owners who see the law as a sticking point. The Daily News reports that:

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen believes many of the Latinos likely to be affected by it are people who persevered through difficult circumstances to reach the United States and who came to work and make a better life for themselves.

And Guillen doesn’t think that someone willing to go through all that to come here will be easily pushed back out.

“We’re pretty smart. We came all the way from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and you have to cross the border and we did it,” he said. “It’s easy to (then) go from Arizona to Colorado or California. ... It’s a tough thing they want to do (but) we’re not leaving. We’re not doing anything wrong here. We come here just to work.”

Guillen, a Venezuelan, was pleased the players’ union had issued a statement critical of the law. He said understood why it was written but that he was “disappointed” it passed because it sets the table for more states to pass similar legislation. “Once they have this in one state, every state will come out with the same stuff and that’s going to be hard,” he said. “And (immigrants) — I don’t care what law you do – they’re not going to leave. They came to make money, they came to work and they came to make this country better.

“I think this problem should have been resolved a long time ago and not wait until now. ... Help them get a visa or try to do something different to keep those guys here. The sooner you do that, there will be less illegal people here.”

Guillen was quick to point out that immigrants settled the country and that he believes the work ethic of those coming into the country today should be admired.

“Most (immigrants) are workaholics,” Guillen said. “This country can’t survive without (them). I’m sorry but a lot of people from this country are very lazy. We aren’t. A lot of people from this country want to be on the computer and sending e-mail to people. We do the hard work. We’re the ones who have to go out and work in the sun all day long.”

Tags : arizona, arizona boycott, sb 1070

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