Los Suns (Bringing the Impact of a Game to Another Level)

          On Wednesday night the Phoenix Suns are going to make a statement. No, it won’t be a 33 point game by their point guard. It also won’t be a 2-0 lead in series against their rivals. The biggest statement will come from their jerseys. On Wednesday the Phoenix Suns will don their ‘Los Suns’ jerseys. Now the there have been six teams that have introduced jerseys to embrace some of the Latino fan’s who support them. The six teams are the Chicago Bulls (Los Bulls), Miami Heat (El Heat), Dallas Mavericks (Los Mavericks), New York Knicks (Nueva York Knicks), San Antonio Spurs (Los Spurs), and the Phoenix Suns.

The reason for the appearance of these alternate jerseys has to do with the new Arizona law. Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer signed a very tough bill on immigration a few weeks ago. This law makes it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant. It also gives officers the right to determine a person’s status if there is reasonable doubt they are not documented. Anyone who is document and do not have papers on them can be arrested. This may cause a increase in the racial discrimination Hispanic people and other ethnicities. Well the Suns are not supporter of their new state law. Steve Karr held a team meeting to discuss the plan of wear the jerseys then got the okay for Commissioner Stern. Only question was did the player want to do it? A Steve Nash led locker room though wouldn’t come out with any other answer then yes. This green light only draws more attention to the Governors Immigration Bill.

"I think the law is very misguided. I think it is unfortunately to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in," Nash said of the introduced bill "I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don't want to see and don't need to see in 2010." Amare Stoudemire was on the same page as his captain. "It's going to be great to wear Los Suns to let the Latin community know we're behind them 100%," He said when asked about the ordeal. It’s nice to see an established player such as Nash, a two time MVP speaking out against an unjust bill such as this. Players are shown helping others in commercial or while someone’s filming them. For some players charity, and compassion for others stops when the cameras turn off. But this move was made and decided with no use of cameras. This was done for others without a voice, for fans that have supported not only there team but the NBA as a whole over the years.

Steve Karr, GM of the Suns was all for the celebrating diversity. “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.”

Pretty bold, especially when the bill was made in your own backyard. I really have never been a supporter of the Phoenix Suns. I always thought their team was just a bunch of flash and thrills with no defensive. But I don’t have to like their playing to like this. I totally support the Suns as I’m sure most of the NBA community does as well. So when you watch this team take the floor Wednesday, give them a them a lot of credit. Not for playing in playoffs, but the ability and courage to make a difference for a whole community even if it is a small one. This is a step in the right direction.

Some of the Los jerseys http://theorynpractice.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ept_sports_nba_experts-4703945-1236186663.jpg