Arizona Government vs. Phoenix Suns | Teen Ink

Arizona Government vs. Phoenix Suns

May 19, 2010
By Le Bron SILVER, Roslyn, New York
Le Bron SILVER, Roslyn, New York
9 articles 0 photos 8 comments

The Arizona State Government recently passed a new immigration law that allows local and state officials to ask any person on the street to see their legal immigration papers, proving citizenship. The passing of this immigration law is a response to the lack of national government regulation on the borders. This law, however, has catalyzed criticism from many sources because it is blatant racial profiling. Most law officials will not ask a Caucasian white-collar worker for their citizenship papers, but most will ask a Hispanic blue-collar worker to see their papers clearly displaying racial profiling. People who support this law argue that it is a necessary law to cut down on the amount of illegal immigrants in the country for the lack of support from the national government.

The NBA's Phoenix Suns have worn their “Los Suns” jerseys in order to show their opposition to this law. The Suns wore these jerseys in hope of influencing the citizens or the government to retract the law. Some people, however, believe that this act by the Phoenix Suns has gone too far. Eric, a ninth-grader at Roslyn High School, said, “Sports should not mix with politics. Athletes have no place in a Congress building.”

The support of the team may out weigh the people's support of this law though. Steve Nash, the Suns' captain, is considered a hero in Phoenix and Arizona. Nash is against this law and his opinions may be passed on to the fans and citizens due to his unparalleled regional influence. Alex, a freshman, stated, “Arizona citizens will no longer have support in this law. The sports players and athletes of Phoenix are heroes and they have huge amounts of pull in the community.”

This has led to the question of whether sports teams or the government has a larger influence on the people. Our government, which is a republic in which people elect officials to represent themselves, should have the largest influence because it represents the people and their views. Sports teams, however, can have a larger influence because they have sports superstars, icons, and heroes who are part of the team's franchise. Would a typical citizen be influenced more by politician Chuck Schumer or by basketball superstar Lebron James? This view is not held by all citizens though. Mr. Vogt, an English teacher, said “No sports team holds sway over citizen reaction. Neither does the government. The government is supposed to look out for the minority, but this law does not represent the minority.” Sports teams are a source of entertainment and even a type of mental or emotional escape, while the government is the representation of the people and their views. Entertainment or emotional escape is a superficial pleasure of the American people, while representation of the American people and ideas will always be a reality in this country. The normal citizen will be influenced more by the government than a sports team because the government represents who the people really are, while sports teams are just sources of entertainment.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 2 comments.


on Oct. 25 2010 at 2:11 pm
AaronLawrence SILVER, St. Louis, Missouri
9 articles 5 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
I may be an idiot, but i&#039;m not stupid<br /> <br /> Until you change me enough that i&#039;m convinced I need to change, I won&#039;t change

Personelly i'm against the immigration law, it means if any hispanic person leaves their papers at home they could be spending the night in jail.  Nice work

on Jun. 2 2010 at 4:45 pm
BlueberryPoptartHasAnAmazinglyLongScreenname BRONZE, Some Town, New York
4 articles 1 photo 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Oh. You can&#039;t help that we&#039;re all mad here.&quot; - The Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland<br /> <br /> &quot;The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.&quot;- Cornelius Fudge, Harry Potter<br /> <br /> <br /> &quot;I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick.&quot;

I think it's greqat to see someone of power speak up forr what they believe. Great eeasy, by the way.