The owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, Robert Sarver, opposes Arizona’s Immigration Law because he is fearful of the damage to gate receipts from a boycott of the Suns by NBA fans in San Antonio, Phoenix and Los Angeles, cities that are all heavily Hispanic. Three times last season he had his team wear “Los Suns” jerseys to appeal to Hispanic fans.
In responding to Mr. Sarver’s latest criticism of the Arizona law, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona released the following statement: “What if the owner of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into Suns games without paying? What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are, but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs? Thus non-paying attendees could not be evicted. Furthermore, what if the Sun’s ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drinks? And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?”
Sounds to me like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is a woman of uncommonly good sense.
Bob Hazard
August, 2010