The shirts were created for pride but the Suns/NBA/Spurs are MAKING A POLITICAL STATEMENT
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"Our players and organization felt that wearing our 'Los Suns' jerseys on Cinco de Mayo was a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the State of Arizona, and our nation," Sarver said in a statement released by the team. "We are proud that 400 players from 36 countries compete in the NBA, and the league and the Suns have always considered that to be a great strength of the NBA.
"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. 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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The NBA Players Association released a statement criticizing the law and praising the Suns for the move.
"The recent passage of the new immigration law in Arizona is disappointing and disturbing," said Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBAPA. "The National Basketball Players Association strongly supports the repeal or immediate modification of this legislation. Any attempt to encourage, tolerate or legalize racial profiling is offensive and incompatible with basic notions of fairness and equal protection. A law that unfairly targets one group is ultimately a threat to all.
"We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers. 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."
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"We're all proud to wear our Los Suns uniforms tomorrow night for Cinco de Mayo," Suns guard Steve Nash said. "Obviously the passing of the recent bill and what that means to our state, to civil liberties, and the quality and precedent it's setting, and message it sends to our youngsters in the community, we have a problem with that. It's great that our owner took the initiative and our players are behind him."
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich would have gone with the "Los Spurs" jerseys if possible. The team only has one set of that uniform back in San Antonio, having sent the second back to the NBA. (Teams need two sets of uniforms for a game.) Popovich added that the Spurs had talked about addressing the immigration topic with Phoenix later in the series.
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http://www.nba.com/2010/news/05/04/los.sons/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1
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