All-Star Game: Do Some Baseball Players Belong on Sheriff Arpaio's Chain Gang?

MLB's All-Star Game became a joke in 2002 when both teams ran out of pitchers, forcing the game to end in a 7-7 tie. This year, through no fault of commissioner Al "Bud" Selig or MLB, the All-Star Game will be used for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's propaganda and self-aggrandizement.

The kindly sheriff is going to have a chain gang composed of undocumented immigrants, all convicted of DUI, and American citizens, both male and female, who have also been convicted of DUI pick up trash outside Chase Field.

Sheriff Arpaio's goal is to increase Americans' awareness of the perils of drinking and driving.

The good sheriff will not be upset if the millions of people who watch the All-Star Game and the tens of thousands of fans who attend the game become more apprised of the controversies created by illegal immigration as well.

When asked why the chain gang would include undocumented individuals, the good sheriff told reporter JJ Hensley (Joe Arpaio's Chain Gang)

"I would be discriminating against the people here illegally in this country who have been convicted of the same crimes US citizens have been convicted of. Should I say, 'Oh no, you can't be in a chain gang because you're from a different country?'" Arpaio said Wednesday. "Everything I do, there's a method, whether on punishment or deterrent."

It has been alleged that the inmates who will help the outside of Chase Field remain sanitary have volunteered for the job. You know, anything to have a day away from the office.

It is expected that many will protest Sheriff Arpaio's actions. It is likely they will attempt to cast the "toughest sheriff in the world" as an exploitative, immigrant-hating racist.

Joe Arpaio knows that quite well.

"You think I put the chain gang in the desert where no one could see them? I've never done that," Arpaio said.

On more than one occasion, Arpaio has been investigated for violating prisoners' civil rights and abusing his power.

Driving while impaired is not an issue to joke about. It is a serious problem, as serious as solving the undocumented immigration issue, but the fact remains, despite Charles Barkley's position, baseball players are role models.

Sadly, too many baseball players have something in common with the members of Sheriff Arpaio's chain gang.

In January, Adam Kennedy was arrested on a DUI charge in Newport Beach, California. Austin Kearns, Miguel Cabrera and Coco Crisp were arrested during spring training (DUI Baseball Players ESPN).

According to police, which is an important point, Cabrera, one of baseball's most talented players, forced other vehicles off the road and after he was stopped was accused of drinking from a bottle of scotch in front of a deputy.

On April 28, Derek Lowe was stopped by a Georgia state trooper and charged with DUI. A few days later, Shin-Soo Choo was stopped. A breathalyzer indicated his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Having a chain gang pick up trash at the All-Star Game is an obscenity. Instead of emphasizing significant societal problems, it is going to trivialize them, at least for one day.