Legends of Sirens: HELL NO, ARIZONA! YOU GO, LOS SUNS! HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

Suns to wear 'Los Suns' jerseys for Game 2

AP Sports Writer Bob Baum – Tue May 4, 7:02 pm ET

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns will wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."

The decision to wear the jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday stems from a law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. President Barack Obama has called the law "misguided."

Sarver, who was born and raised in Tucson, said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

"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," he said, "and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

The measure makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally, and it directs local police to question people about their immigration status and demand to see their documents if there is reason to suspect they are illegal.

The controversy surrounding the law has led to picketing at some road games of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks and a call from the Rev. Jesse Jackson for major league baseball to move next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix.

Sarver came up with the "Los Suns" jersey idea but left it up to the players for the final decision, Suns guard Steve Nash said, and all of them were for it.

"I think it's fantastic," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "I think the law is very misguided. I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it's very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us."

Nash was born in South Africa and moved with his parents to Victoria, British Columbia, when he was 1 1/2 years old. He was one of four Canadians to light the torch in the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics this year.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said his team was interested in taking part but couldn't get new "Los Spurs" road jerseys in time for the game.

"It's a wonderful idea," Popovich said. "because it kind of shows what we all should be about. Sure there needs to be a lot of work done, obviously. A lot of administrations have done nothing about the immigration deal and now everybody's paying the price, especially a lot of people in Arizona. That's a bad thing, but the reaction is important, too, and this reaction (the Arizona law), I believe with Mr. Sarver, is inappropriate."

Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr said he and Sarver talked about making the gesture as the team flew home from Portland last week.

"We just felt like it was important," Kerr said. "We're in the public eye and this is obviously a huge issue. We acknowledge there are two sides to the issue and there are a lot of dynamics. It's a difficult thing to sift through and there are going to be differing opinions. But what we're focusing on is we want to celebrate the diversity that exists in our state and the diversity that exists in the NBA, make sure that people understand that we know what's going on and we don't agree with the law itself."

The NBA Players Association released a statement criticizing Arizona's immigration law and praising the Suns for the gesture.

"We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers," the NBAPA said. "We are consulting with our members and our player leadership to determine the most effective way for our union to continue to voice our opposition to this legislation."

But Kerr said "this isn't a huge political stand as much as it is just a celebration of diversity."

He said the Suns called the NBA for approval "and they were all for it."

Suns coach Alvin Gentry didn't want to comment on Arizona's immigration bill and said he was focused on showing appreciation for the Latino community and Arizona's diversity.

"I'm not trying to duck it," Gentry said. "I don't know enough about it to really comment on it. I would think that if it had anything to do with racial profiling, then obviously as an African-American I would not be for anything that had any hint of racial profiling."

The Suns wore the "Los Suns" jerseys twice in the regular season, and won both games.

"It's going to be great to wear Los Suns," Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire said, "to let the Latin community know that we're behind them 100 percent."

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Two Arizona cities to sue over immigration law

By the CNN Wire Staff, May 5, 2010 -- The city councils in two of Arizona's largest cities have voted to file suit over the state's controversial new immigration law, which allows police to ask anyone for proof of legal U.S. residency.

The Tucson City Council voted 5-1 to file suit, and the city council in Flagstaff approved a similar measure 7-0. Both votes occurred Tuesday.

Members of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, meanwhile, plan to wear jerseys that say "Los Suns" in a playoff game Wednesday as "a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community," managing partner Robert Sarver said in a statement.

Opposition to the law continued Wednesday, with some civil rights and labor organizations saying they will announce a boycott Thursday.

Joining in Thursday's announcement will be the National Council of La Raza, which bills itself as the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States; the Asian American Justice Center; the Center for Community Change; the Service Employees International Union; and the United Food and Commercial Workers, the groups said in a release.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the immigration measure April 23. It is scheduled to go into effect this summer.

Critics say the law will lead to racial profiling. Brewer and others who support the law say it does not involve racial profiling or any other illegal acts.

The city councils said they passed the measures because of concerns over enforcement costs and negative effects on Arizona's tourism industry. Opponents of the immigration law have called for a boycott of Arizona tourism and urge that no one engage in any commerce with businesses located in the state.

In Tucson, council member Regina Romero introduced a motion for "the city attorney to bring a legal challenge" because the immigration bill is "a bad law, which could cost the city millions of dollars in lawsuits and is unconstitutional."

"This bill opens the door to racial profiling, and it puts Latinos in Arizona in automatic suspect mode," Romero said.

Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup said up to 38 percent of retail sales in the city come from legal Mexican visitors.

The state immigration law threatens those businesses, Walkup said, just when "the city is just beginning to recover from the economic downturn."

The Mexican government issued an advisory to its citizens last week to avoid travel in Arizona.

The Organization of American States expressed its concern about the law last week, and presidents of South American countries meeting in Argentina for a gathering of the Union of South American Nations condemned the law Tuesday.

Well-known Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes recommended this week that dark-skinned people, men with mustaches, women who use shawls, or anyone who does not speak English well should not go to Arizona because the state has "officially declared itself racist," the government-run Notimex news service reported Wednesday.

The Phoenix Suns basketball team also criticized the new law.

"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law," managing partner Sarver said. "However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

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