It is not in the same league as other major civil-rights protests in the history of sports, but Robert Sarver's decision to have his Phoenix Suns wear "Los Suns" jerseys Wednesday to protest Arizona's new immigration law
is unusual.
That's the view of Richard O. Davies, a University of Nevada-Reno professor who specializes in sports history.
"Normally, sports figures are reluctant to stick their necks out," Davies said. "And it's very unusual for teams to take a stand."
Arizona was in the national spotlight again Wednesday after Sarver, the Suns' managing general partner, announced his team would wear the special uniforms in an outward expression of distaste for Arizona's new law.
Sarver, other team officials and players also criticized the law, which makes it a state crime to be in Arizona without proper documentation and requires local police to check the legal status of suspected undocumented immigrants.
The move got the attention of President Barack Obama, who made reference to the jerseys Wednesday in a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the White House. But it also got the attention of some irate fans - there is substantial public support for the law in Arizona - and conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who called the move sad and shortsighted.
One outraged fan told The Arizona Republic that she shredded her four lower-level tickets to Wednesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs in protest. Meanwhile, 84 letters to the editor were sent to The Republic on Wednesday, 79 opposed to Sarver's decision.
"I'm very unhappy, and I don't think they should get involved," said Roger Gibbard, who lives outside Queen Creek and has been a Suns fan since 1981.
Yet Davies, the professor, said sports figures have played major roles in civil-rights movements over the years. He pointed to Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier in 1947, the Black Power salute by U.S. sprinters at the 1968 Olympics, and boxer Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in the Vietnam War.
Sports figures have a unique ability, given their popularity, to turn the spotlight on key issues, whether viewed through a moral or political lens.
Davies said Sarver's decision is nowhere close to the historical events in which sports figures fought to eliminate racial barriers, but "it's out of the ordinary" because most teams don't want to take stands, regardless of the principles involved, that might alienate fans who buy tickets and merchandise.
The professor added that most superstar athletes, notably basketball's Michael Jordan, have refused to take political or social stands for fear of alienating those who buy products they endorse.
Sarver's decision clearly created a firestorm. By midday Wednesday, he no longer wanted to talk about it. He also declined to answer questions about whether the decision could hurt the team financially.
"I'm not going to go there," he said. "I don't have any more public comments."
Rick Welts, the team's chief executive, said fans appeared to be split on the issue. He said the response was "exactly what we expected." The team has no plans to wear the "Los Suns" jerseys for the rest of the best-of-seven-game series with the Spurs, Welts said.
A spokesman for Gov. Jan Brewer, meanwhile, said she was surprised that the Suns had denounced the immigration law, given the bill was "debated publicly for four months" at the Capitol.
"I don't recall the Phoenix Suns ever taking a position in an open public discussion on this," said Paul Senseman, the governor's spokesman. Senseman called some of the comments made by Suns General Manager Steve Kerr comparing the law to Nazi Germany "ugly" and "hateful."
Down the street from US Airways Center, the Arizona Diamondbacks
, who have been the target of protests on the road during the past two weeks, plan to wear "Los D-Backs" jerseys on Sept. 4 to honor Hispanic Heritage Day. The team has worn those jerseys the past two years for special occasions and planned, before the immigration law was signed, to wear them again in September.
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