by Joe Guzzardi
July 11, 2011
Late last spring, Major League Baseball was under heavy, relentless pressure from special interest groups to pull the 2011 All Star Game out of Phoenix. Commissioner Bud Seligs office was swamped with phone calls and letters from civil rights and Hispanic pro-immigration organizations demanding that the game be relocated. The reason: they object to Arizonas S.B. 1070, a bill that under certain circumstances would permit law enforcement officers to ask residents for proof of legal immigration status.
For a variety of excellent reasons, Selig dismissed his critics. First, what goes on in state, federal or local politics is not an issue for professional sports. At best, if MLB had acted in support of groups opposed to S.B. 1070, it would draw the ire of those who favor it, by far a larger number. A Pew Research Poll shows that 73 percent of Americans agree that requiring people to verify their immigration status when police ask them to do so is appropriate.
Second, although a year may seem like adequate lead time to rearrange the All Star Games logistics, it isnt. Booked months in advance, hotel and plane reservations for players, reporters and officials would have to be juggled. More important, stating that moving the game would cost innocent citizens jobs, local business groups including the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce urged Selig to stand pat.
Third, regardless of personal feelings about S.B. 1070, no one can argue that its potential impact could have the magnitude of 9/11 or John F. Kennedys assassination. In 2001, the National Football League reluctantly reschedulednot relocatedits second week games. But in 1963, after Kennedy had been killed in Dallas, the NFL played.
Among the loudest voices objecting to Arizona hosting the All Star Game was Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzales. Born in San Diego but raised in Tijuana, Gonzalez said last year: "If they leave it up to the players and the law is still there, Ill probably not play in the All Star Game because its a discriminating law." This year, elected to the starting American League team, Gonzalez while insisting that his earlier comments were misinterpreted, deferred: "Im not that much into politics."
At issue today is not S.B. 1070s pros or cons, even though I am solidly behind it, but the thousands of column inches given to last years stories about the protesters objections. Since Selig ignored their demands from the outset, they never had the slightest chance to achieve their aim.
Ridiculous claims made about S.B. 1070 went unchallenged and, although they have since been proven false, havent been acknowledged as extreme and purposely misleading. Immigration advocates, for example, predicted that Hispanic players would be "rounded up" and targeted for deportation during Arizonas spring training games. That never happened.
In the meantime, fans from all over the world pour in to Phoenix. Starting at the Monday morning Fanfest and ending late Tuesday evening with the games last pitch, two solid days of baseball activities will be held to the delight of onlookers.
The huge yawn that anti-S.B. 1070 groups encountered proves that public opinion is is on the side of law enforcement and not the few noisy voices of those who object to Arizonas effort to curtail illegal immigration.
###
Joe Guzzardi has written editorial columnsmostly about immigration and related social issues - since 1986. He is a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) and his columns have frequently been syndicated in various U.S. newspapers and websites. Contact him at [email protected]t | Privacy
July 11, 2011
Late last spring, Major League Baseball was under heavy, relentless pressure from special interest groups to pull the 2011 All Star Game out of Phoenix. Commissioner Bud Seligs office was swamped with phone calls and letters from civil rights and Hispanic pro-immigration organizations demanding that the game be relocated. The reason: they object to Arizonas S.B. 1070, a bill that under certain circumstances would permit law enforcement officers to ask residents for proof of legal immigration status.
For a variety of excellent reasons, Selig dismissed his critics. First, what goes on in state, federal or local politics is not an issue for professional sports. At best, if MLB had acted in support of groups opposed to S.B. 1070, it would draw the ire of those who favor it, by far a larger number. A Pew Research Poll shows that 73 percent of Americans agree that requiring people to verify their immigration status when police ask them to do so is appropriate.
Second, although a year may seem like adequate lead time to rearrange the All Star Games logistics, it isnt. Booked months in advance, hotel and plane reservations for players, reporters and officials would have to be juggled. More important, stating that moving the game would cost innocent citizens jobs, local business groups including the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce urged Selig to stand pat.
Third, regardless of personal feelings about S.B. 1070, no one can argue that its potential impact could have the magnitude of 9/11 or John F. Kennedys assassination. In 2001, the National Football League reluctantly reschedulednot relocatedits second week games. But in 1963, after Kennedy had been killed in Dallas, the NFL played.
Among the loudest voices objecting to Arizona hosting the All Star Game was Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzales. Born in San Diego but raised in Tijuana, Gonzalez said last year: "If they leave it up to the players and the law is still there, Ill probably not play in the All Star Game because its a discriminating law." This year, elected to the starting American League team, Gonzalez while insisting that his earlier comments were misinterpreted, deferred: "Im not that much into politics."
At issue today is not S.B. 1070s pros or cons, even though I am solidly behind it, but the thousands of column inches given to last years stories about the protesters objections. Since Selig ignored their demands from the outset, they never had the slightest chance to achieve their aim.
Ridiculous claims made about S.B. 1070 went unchallenged and, although they have since been proven false, havent been acknowledged as extreme and purposely misleading. Immigration advocates, for example, predicted that Hispanic players would be "rounded up" and targeted for deportation during Arizonas spring training games. That never happened.
In the meantime, fans from all over the world pour in to Phoenix. Starting at the Monday morning Fanfest and ending late Tuesday evening with the games last pitch, two solid days of baseball activities will be held to the delight of onlookers.
The huge yawn that anti-S.B. 1070 groups encountered proves that public opinion is is on the side of law enforcement and not the few noisy voices of those who object to Arizonas effort to curtail illegal immigration.
###
Joe Guzzardi has written editorial columnsmostly about immigration and related social issues - since 1986. He is a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) and his columns have frequently been syndicated in various U.S. newspapers and websites. Contact him at [email protected]t | Privacy
