It is generally considered throughout the sports industry a good idea to stay as far away from political issues as possible. Sports teams understand that they are in the business of providing entertainment via athletics to as many people as their advertising, marketing and public relations efforts can reach.
The absolute last thing any sports executive would want to do is alienate a demographic with a political opinion or message.
However, once in a great while there comes a time in our country when a political issue collides with sports and some type of public response or action is necessary.
On April 23 of this year the state of Arizona signed into law the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (aka Arizona Senate Bill 1070 or Arizona SB 1070). Scheduled to go into effect beginning July 28, the law will make it a misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying legal documents.
Although, like all laws, the official legal wording is very detailed and specific; the scope of this new law gives all law enforcement officials the right to approach any person in Arizona, under any circumstance, and demand proof of citizenship or legal status.
Obviously this is an extremely controversial law that’s causing outrage and protest throughout our nation. The eye of this storm, of course, is set directly on Arizona but because this has become a national debate and can, ultimately, affect every state all sports teams are being forced to address this issue.
With Hispanic and Latino Americans as the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), every sports team and league executive must be seriously exploring its strategy on handling this issue.
We’ve already seen two sports organizations step up and offer its position on the matter.
Already an aggressive marketer to its large Latino and Hispanic community, the Phoenix Suns wore jerseys that read “Los Suns” on the front for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night (which also happened to be Cinco de Mayo).
The Suns also issued a press release where owner Robert Sarver stated:
“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 our players and organization felt that wearing our ‘Los Suns’ jerseys on Cinco de Mayo was a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation…However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question.”
Steve Nash, the Suns all-star guard and future NBA Hall of Famer, also voiced his opinion when he appeared earlier this week on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.
“(The Arizona law) really damages our civil liberties. I think it opens up the potential for racial profiling and racism. … It represents our state poorly in the eyes of the nation and the world.”
MLB and every sports league and team in America has a social responsibility to address the controversy surrounding the new law.
Major League Baseball, a sport in which 28% of players on Opening Day rosters this year were foreign-born, has yet to offer any public stance on the issue and will have no choice but to do so in the near future.
According to SI.com’s Melissa Segura, an MLB league spokesman recently declined comment on the issue (click here).
Half of MLB’s teams play their Spring Training games in Arizona and the league’s 2011 all-star game is scheduled to be hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Also, many players have already spoken out against the law including Chicago White Sox manager (and Venezuelan) Ozzie Guillen who said, “I don’t think (the law) is fair to anybody from any country.”
To put even more pressure on commissioner Bud Selig and MLB, the Major League Baseball Players Association has jumped into the mix by issuing a statement of its own denouncing the law.
“…The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written. 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.” (click here for entire statement)
As a rule, professional sports and politics don’t mix simply because it isn’t good for business. But sometimes things occur in life that are more important than sports and generating revenue…and this is one of those times.
Regardless of ones personal thoughts and opinions on the new Arizona law and how it will affect the rest of the country, every pro team and league has a responsibility to be socially conscious of the important issues surrounding its players and fans.
Tags: Arizona Senate Bill 1070, Los Suns, Major League Baseball Players Association, Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash
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I believe professional athletes need a PR rep, as much entertainment and media going on in their lives. With all the media surrounding them, you would think they would like someone to do the talking for them. All the big-named athletes named in this article have to watch what they do and what they say on a daily basis. As a PR major, I think one of the better jobs in the sports industry would be to be Lebron James or Tiger Woods PR rep. Professional athletes aren’t invisible and the TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) looks for athletes that they can embarrass and they want to get down to the little details in an athlete’s life. I feel like TMZ worries too much about the athletes’ personal lives, than their professional lives. If athletes don’t want all the media attention and the questioning then the easy way to solve it is to hire a PR rep. The media is out to make a scene with professional athletes.
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