Arizona’s Phoenix Suns are set to prove that not everyone in the state supports Gov. Jan Brewer tough initiative against immigrants. The team’s owner, Robert Sarver, announced that the Phoenix Suns will be wearing ”Los Suns” on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals tonight: “to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation,” he said in a statement quoted by ESPN.
“The frustration with the federal government’s failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona’s already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them,” Sarver said in a statement quoted by Politico.
“I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don’t want to see and don’t need to see in 2010,” Suns point guard Steve Nash cited by the same publication.
“We want to celebrate the diversity that exists in our state and the diversity that exists in the NBA, make sure that people understand that we know what’s going on and we don’t agree with the law,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said, quoted by NBA.
This is the Suns’ way to protest against Arizona’s tough new immigration law, but more importantly, it is a way to show the Latino community that their cultural legacy and national identity is still respected by the citizens of Arizona. A valuable PR lesson for the Governor who managed to paint Arizona in the darkest racist colors possible in less than a month. The world is watching.
Besides, the “Los Suns” jersey appear to be a lucky charm for the team, as they already wore the “Los Suns” jerseys twice in the regular season, and won both games.
The Suns are not alone in this quest. San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich said his team was interested in taking part but couldn’t get new “Los Spurs” road jerseys in time for the game, The Washington Post reports.
Feature image, Steve Nash wearing a Los Suns jersey, courtesy Denver Post.
About Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
Truth: The Suns (including Steve Nash, the Canadian) do not care about the rights of illegal aliens.
they only want to prevent any potential loss of income that might result in hispanics not buying tickets to their games.