Posted May 10, 2010, 11:38 am
Sen. Robert Menendez, the Senate's only Hispanic-American, has asked Major League Baseball players to boycott the 2011 All Star Game in Phoenix to protest Arizona's new immigration law.
"The Arizona law is an embarrassment to our country and a call to action to our communities to stand up against injustice," Menendez wrote in a letter to Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner, reports the New York Times.
The New Jersey Democrat says in the letter that 27 percent of Major League players are Latinos and they shouldn't be subjected to a law Menendez says codifies racial profiling.
Weiner has criticized the law, saying it could discriminate Hispanic players and fans.
“The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written," Weiner said in a statement reported in The Hill. "We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly."
Full text of the letter
Dear Mr. Weiner:
I first want to thank you for taking a public stand and expressing your opposition to Arizona law SB1070. I would also respectfully ask that you and your players consider boycotting the 2011 All Star Game until SB1070 is repealed or the game is moved to an another location. The Arizona law is offensive to Hispanics and all Americans because it codifies racial profiling into law by requiring police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally.
As you and I both know, Major League Baseball (MLB) is truly a multicultural, international sport. In fact, Latinos represent 27 percent of all MLB players and 28 percent of MLB players are foreign born. These players come to the United States legally and should not be subjected to the humiliation and harassment that SB1070 would inflict. Imagine if your players and their families were subjected to interrogation by law enforcement, simply because they look a certain way. Imagine if MLB fans – many of whom are Hispanic – were subjected to that same type of interrogation if they were to attend the All Star Game. That would truly be an embarrassment and an injustice, not only to MLB, but to the values and ideals we hold as Americans.
In every century and generation, immigrants have contributed to the progress, prosperity and vitality of this nation. This law undermines that shared history by promoting discrimination against one group of people. As someone who has and continues to fight for comprehensive immigration reform, I believe the Arizona law is a call to action for reform of our nation’s broken immigration system. However, while I understand the frustration about the failures of our current system, states should not be permitted to enact their own discriminatory immigration laws while the federal government works to reform our laws. The Arizona law is an embarrassment to our country and a call to action to our communities to stand up against injustice.
For these reasons, I ask that you consider boycotting the All Star Game in Arizona until SB1070 is repealed or the League decides to move the game to an alternate location. Thank you for your attention to this important issue. It is my hope that we can work together now and in the future.
1 comment on this story
Hey, Soon to be “FORMER” Sen. Robert Melendez, if N.J. has any Americans in it, They, not Hispanics should consider your statement offensive! What DON’T you understand about the word “Illegal”? Are you suggesting all Americans should do illegal things if the laws don’t suit them, or is it just an “assumed right of Hispanics” in your simple mind? Are you a scoflaw? What the hell is wrong with you? YOU are supposed to be a leader? You are the disgrace to Hispanics, not the Arizona law! My father came into America through Ellis Island legally! I expect that from all immigrants. This is the land of “OPPORTUNITY” not “ENTITLEMENT” as you liberal jerks think it is!
You embarrassed yourself by showing your racist colors, pal! Can’t live within the law? Get the hell out. New Jersey, you have a job to do! GIT ‘ER DONE!