All-Star Game to go on without immigration law boycotts
Last year, following the passage of Arizona's controversial immigration law, several Major League Baseball players said they'd boycott this year's All-Star Game in Phoenix to protest the divisive measure.
The game is scheduled to take place tonight, however, without any protest from the players or the league. Players have been reticent to talk about the law, according to reports out of Phoenix.
Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz was one of the few players to comment, the Associated Press reports.
"I'm an immigrant. I definitely would never agree with any treating of immigrants bad -- the wrong way," said Ortiz, who is from the Dominican Republic.
He added, however, that he's not getting involved in any protests. "I'm not here for that," he said.
When Arizona passed the law in question last year, Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner came out against it, saying it could negatively impact hundreds of players. Around 30 percent of professional baseball players are Latino.
The law that passed required immigrants to carry documents verifying their immigration status. It also required police officers, while enforcing other laws, to question a person about his or her immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person may be illegally in the country. Some of the law's most controversial provisions, however, have been blocked in court. Court challenges to the law are still pending.
Weiner issued a statement late last week saying that the MLBPA still opposes the law but will send its players to the All-Star Game since "SB 1070 is not in effect and key portions of the law have been judged unlawful by the federal courts."
"Our nation continues to wrestle with serious issues regarding immigration, prejudice and the protection of individual liberties," Weiner said. "Those matters will not be resolved at Chase Field, nor on any baseball diamond; instead they will be addressed in Congress and in statehouses and in courts by those charged to find the right balance among the competing and sincerely held positions brought to the debate."
He added that the All-Star Game is a chance to celebrate the diversity of baseball.
Activists opposed to the law, however, aren't satisfied. The Hispanic civil rights group Somos America will be passing out white ribbons at today's game, the Los Angeles Times reports, to represent solidarity against the law.
"We know that we cannot boycott a game that is already happening," Somos America president Luis Avila told the L.A. Times, explaining that the ribbons will at least bring attention to the issue at the game.
Meanwhile, Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, the powerful Republican leader who was instrumental in passing the law, is poised to face the first recall election of a state legislator in Arizona history this November, the Arizona Republic reports.
