Baseball Players Begin to Speak Out against Arizona Immigration Law
Monday, May 03, 2010
Adrian Gonzalez (photo: Greg Eichelberger)
Count professional baseball players and their union among the growing chorus speaking out against Arizona’s new immigration law. The law, which will require anyone stopped by law enforcement on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant to show proof of legal status or citizenship, has been criticized by numerous Major League Baseball (MLB) players of Hispanic origin, who make up nearly 28% of the players on MLB teams.
Catcher Yorvit Torrealba of the San Diego Padres, who was born in Venezuela, told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Why do I want to go play in a place where every time I go to a restaurant and they don't understand what I'm trying to order, they're going to ask me for ID first? That's bull. I come from a crazy country. Now Arizona seems a little bit more crazy.”
Torrealba’s teammate, All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship, said: “It goes against what this country was built on. This is discrimination. Are they going to pass out a picture saying ‘You should look like this and you’re fine,’ but if you don’t, do people have the right to question you? That’s profiling.”
New York Mets catcher Rod Barajas, who was born in the United States after his parents emigrated from Mexico, told The New York Times, “If they happen to pull someone over who looks like they are of Latin descent, even if they are a U.S. citizen, that is the first question that is going to be asked. But if a blond-haired, blue-eyed Canadian gets pulled over, do you think they are going to ask for their papers? No.”
Michael Weiner, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, issued a statement that said, “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 US citizens but are suspected by law enforcement of being of foreign descent.”
In June, one month before the law goes into effect, about 140 young Hispanic baseball players will arrive in the state for the Arizona Rookie League. Some MLB officials are worried how these young men will be treated by local authorities.
This is not the first time that Arizona has clashed with a professional sports league. The National Football League (NFL) awarded the 1993 Super Bowl to Tempe, Arizona, but when Arizona voters refused to create a state holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., the NFL took the Super Bowl away from the state. Arizonians approved the holiday in 1992, and Tempe hosted the 1996 Super Bowl.
-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff
“This is Racist Stuff”: Baseball Players/Union Speak Out Against (by Dave Zirin, The Nation)
Arizona Immigration Law Criticized by Mets’ Barajas (by David Waldstein, New York Times)
Padres Weigh in on Arizona Law (by Chris Jenkins, San Diego Union-Tribune)
Baseball Alarmed by Arizona Immigration Law (by Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports)
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