We had an awesome turnout on today's press conference dealing with Bud Selig and Major League Baseball's silence on Arizona's xenophobic immigration law, SB 1070.
Here is the list of people who have signed on to the letter that I helped co-write to Bud Selig and MLB.
John Amato, Founder & President, CrooksandLiars.com
Clarissa Martinez, Director, Immigration & National Campaigns, National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
Roberto Lovato, Co-Founder, Presente.org
Doug Gordon, Co-Founder, MovetheGame.org, Vice President, Fenton
Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America's Voice
Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga, Founder and Publisher, Daily Kos
MoveOn.org Political Action
Julio Pabon, Publisher, LatinoSports.com
Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network
Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition
Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change
Michael Keegan, President, People For the American Way
Howie Klein, Founder and Treasurer, Blue America PAC
Digby, Founder and Publisher, Hullaballoo
Manuel Guzmán, Founder and Publisher, Latino Politico
Rick Jacobs, Founder and Chair, Courage Campaign
Inez Gonzalez, Executive Vice President, National Hispanic Media Coalition
The Rev. David L. Ostendorf, Founder & Executive Director, Center for New Community
Hector Sanchez, Executive Director, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Leone Jose Bicchieri, Executive Director, Chicago Workers Collaborative
Josh Norek, Deputy Director, Voto Latino
Jehmu Greene, President, Women's Media Center
Jorge Mursuli, President and CEO, Democracia USA
Marisa Treviño, Founder and Publisher, LatinaLista.net
Maegan "la Mamita Mala" Ortiz, Co-Founder, VivirLatino.com
Jennifer Allen, Executive Director, Border Action Network Enrique Morones, Executive Director, Border Angels (Former VP of Latino Marketing, San Diego Padres)
Along with our action, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has issued a boycott to the state of Arizona over the new law.
Presente.org partnered with Fenton Communications to design a website and petition drive to move the 2011 All Star game from Arizona called:
They've already collected over 100,000 signatures for their petition and are preparing to deliver them to MLB.
Bud Selig and MLB have tried to hide behind a wall of silence. That won't fly any longer.
Please call MLB and ask Bud Selig to respond on this important issue.
English: 866-956-3902
Spanish: 866-587-3023
Only with continued pressure coming from you will the commissioner of baseball ever take a principled stand on the Arizona law that is already spreading from state to state.
Here's the letter in html form:
Dear Commissioner Selig:
As you know, the Governor of Arizona recently signed a controversial new law that forces police to ask for the papers of any person who looks “reasonably suspicious” in the course of enforcing any law or city ordinance. The new law, SB 1070, has come under nationwide criticism for the threat it poses to the civil rights of Hispanics living in or visiting the state.
We are writing you today to ask that you denounce the new state law, cancel the 2011 Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game in Phoenix, and to pressure teams to relocate all Arizona winter and spring training games while this state law is in effect.
Under Arizona’s new law, any fan of Hispanic descent visiting Phoenix for the All-Star Game or a training game will be subject to unequal treatment, fines, and possibly jail time if they cannot prove their legal status on the spot. As 15-year Tucson police officer Martin Escobar said when he filed a lawsuit to stop the new Arizona law, there are no “race-neutral criteria or basis to suspect or identify who is lawfully in the United States.”
Already, the Major League Baseball Players Association has publicly denounced this unjust law, the government of Mexico has even issued travel warnings for those visiting the state, heads of state and foreign ministers from 12 South American nations have warned of potential violence towards minorities and America’s leading civil rights organizations have condemned it.
Major League Baseball has a strong history of supporting minorities and civil rights in America, which began when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player in 1947. As you are well aware, over a quarter of all Major League Baseball players are Latino, and almost 40% of your players are people of color. These players – and baseball’s millions of Hispanic and immigrant fans – deserve leaders in this moment of crisis with a loud and clear message that this law is not acceptable to the League.
We strongly urge you to relocate the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix and to pressure teams to pull all winter and spring training games from Arizona while this un-American law is in effect. We hope that Major League Baseball will once again prove to be an example of strength and courage to those who work so hard to be a part of this country we all love. We look forward to your response.
I guess it would be because most of us don't care about MLB. Post a link to the petition and i will sign it.
baseball been very very good to me... so i called the NYC MLB office 866-956-3902 that number again, operators are standing by
inundate the office
your name's Lebowski, Lebowski... and your wife is Bunny
More like this please.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
we will.
I mean Derek Jeter coming out against this law. We know A-Rod is a sell-out, so don't ask him.
I mean, Reggie Jackson needs to be speaking out against this. Likewise, Hank Aaron in addition to Vlad Guerrero, Adrian Beltre, and those guys, otherwise, you can petition Bud Selig all you want and nothing will happen.
As has been noted, Selig is merely an owner. The office of baseball's commissioner is as dead as Julius Caesar.
He will stall for time, waiting for the courts to overturn the law. Leastwise, I'll be pleasantly surprised if he does anything else.
That said, I'll sign any petition that's offered up to influence B-Ball to do the right thing. I'm proud to say my merchant marine uncle once gathered signatures outside Ebbets Field during WW2 to desegregate the game. He would definitely have been on board this drive.
Jackie Robinson was not the first African-American baseball player...he was the first African-American Major League Baseball player. It may seem like quibbling but to have such a high-profile group sign the letter it should be factually correct.
This means in MLB:
Major League Baseball has a strong history of supporting minorities and civil rights in America, which began when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player in 1947.
it's a very badly written sentence. One possible reading: "Civil rights in American began when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player in 1947." So your unpleasant response to o.i.a. seems a little unwarranted, John.
Also, aside from Richard Trumka and MoveOn, I don't see a lot of signatories who are likely to really catch Selig's attention. No Hall-of-Famers? No Corporate-Americans? I hear Selig's a bit sleazy. Seems to me that people with money, power and fame are the only ones that matter to someone like him.
No politicians either. I agree that Selig loves money and he's made MLB tons of it with the help of the Hispanic community.
I think Major League baseball had a dismal civil rights record, which is why it took until 1947 for one team to break the color barrier with one player.
Which is not to say that should have been mentioned in the letter.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Need to get some ballplayers to sign on. The players' union has already come out against the law.
It DOES read as if the letter is saying that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player, and not the first in the Majors..
Commencement speech at Emory University:
Arnold Schwarzenegger Afraid To Travel To Arizona! "They Might Try To Deport Me!"
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
eom
Worth every penny of the ~$20M he makes...
"MLB Commissioner Bud Selig earned $18.35 million for the league’s fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2007, an amount up 22 percent from the prior year and one that again places him among the highest-paid individuals in all of sports."
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/...
The guy makes more than most players, and he does nothing but allow the Yankees to break the rules when they build new parks...
"Rule 1.04 note A: Any playing field constructed by a professional club after June 1, 1958 shall provide a minimum distance of 325 ft. from home base to the nearest fence, stand, or other obstruction on the right and left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 ft. to the center field fence."
Yankee Stadium (Opened in 2009) has "dimensions [of] 318 ft. to left field, 314 ft. to right field, and 408 ft. to center field."
(http://www.ventaboutsports.com/2009/05/new-ya...)
"I could give a flying crap about the political process.... We're an entertainment company."
- Glenn Beck - Forbes interview; April 26, 2010
...that if the All Star Game isn't moved and an effective boycott of MLB is implemented, Selig won't be making one red cent as commissioner. He'll just be another owner again.
As for your tangent....Meh. No Yankees fan here, but preserving the dimensions of the old, iconic park* was a good thing for the game. At least they didn't try to squeeze the original, pre-renovation YS dimensions by the rules.
*The new stadium is actually shorter at the fence in right field between the foul pole and the "true" right filed. The wall at the old park used to bow out as far as, iirc, 13 feet at it's deepest. The wall at the new park runs absolutely straight.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
It was hard enough for them to swipe the parkland they needed to build their unnecessary new ballfield.
signed
Red Sox Nation
PS Damn Yankees
your name's Lebowski, Lebowski... and your wife is Bunny
For spearheading this drive.
Gracias Amigo!
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
Why ask that MLB do this?
It's way past that time.
How about a letter along the lines of:
Your letter, but then add this.
Mr. Selig, should MLB decide not to demand this law be revoked, you leave the supporters of human rights no alternative but to assume that your organization actually supports this law. If that is the case, then you give me no alternative to take my boycott one step further and to call for a boycott of MLB and their sponsors.
Ever met a used car salesman with a soul?
But I don't think it was his. Not originally, anyway.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
Louis Cyphre?
http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/20...
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
But I don't only want Yankees and Anglo's to be the only ones playing. Brown, black and yellow count too!
Say "SI!" to moving the All Star Game, if THEY don't change the law!
Not some other entity, I'm talking about AZ itself. If someone makes them, I'd still boycott. If it's not of their own volition, NO baseball or other tourism for you, AZ!!!
friends with the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who is a big repuglyKKKan supporter.
Since Bud was part of the owner's coup against the former bureaucracy, I see no reason he could think of to in any way be accountable for anything other than profits from baseball. Bud has never exhibited a hint of principle as far as I can remember.
I strongly recommend against holding one's breath.
________________
common sense matters as much as truth
When I think of baseball, I remember my grandfather sleeping in his big leather chair in front of a Cubs game on WGN. I can't even feign interest in MLB.
Having said that, I'll still sign a petition to get Bud Selig off his ass and out of his office into the sunlight.
Proud DFH, emeritus!
Thanks for all your efforts on this important issue. Keep up the pressure!
great work on the collective melding of disparate voices into one.
thank you c&L.
in tandem with a unifed boycott ....individuals reaching out to other individuals is always useful in persuading movement from a "status quo" position.
If you know of contacts whom have reps in the group sales, season tickets renewals or stadium advertising/sponsorships,....these are direct contacts worthy of calls and emails.
Like a sleeping giant, there are certain areas of the professional sports entity more sensitive to pokes and prods when trying to get a giant's attention...
It took a lot of work and this movement will continue to grow. Please call MLB directly and ask for Bud Selig's office.
English: 866-956-3902
Spanish: 866-587-3023
Jackie at America's Voice was awesome to work with and helped put this thing together.
AZ is ground zero because more states are trying to imitate them.
...how tough is it going to be to not turn on Yankees' or Dodgers' games if MLB doesn't come through on this?
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
I'm against the law and I've never been a Bud Selig fan. Nevertheless, I think putting the onus on MLB for this bad law is reactionary and the thing that makes liberals look stupid. I have no problem with a voice to Selig saying let's begin to look at this but to say that MLB should immediately rescind the location is reactionary. How about they rescind the Diamondbacks franchise? It's the same thing. You could equally say we shouldn't play any MLB games in Arizona until the law is repealed. Just isn't necessary to put all this energy into MLB having to take a stand at this point. Anyway, I quit watching MLB in '94.
Anyone gonna ask the Lakers to forfeit their series against the Suns by not showing up in Arizona for games 3 & 4 ? If it's so important, why not ?
They did not show up in San Antonio either.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I won't say all of the crap that usually gets one pegged as a concern troll. That I ain't. But c'mon: La Raza?
I don't know if they've changed since I attended college, but they are a group I don't favor. Maybe it was just the Cal State Northridge campus students who felt the need to be Glenn-Beckishly over the top in denouncing anything and everything not in agreement with them, but they make strange, intolerant bedfellows for the likes of progressive John Amato. There are other groups out there whose support wouldn't be wanted, and for the sake of Godwin and varients I'll pass on names. SB1070 is a natural for La Raza to protest, but does it have to be affiliated with Team Amato? This smacks of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." As I read and reread the list of cosigners, I had to wonder--where are the Native Americans? Why La Raza and not the Navajo, Hopi, Apache, and Havasupai tribes? I have no issue with any of the other Latino groups listed. Just La Raza.
I support fighting against SB1070. I support John's effort to move MLB out of AZ. I support the honorable Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and will donate to him through Blue America. But La Raza? Having them on the same team is kind of like supporting the watered-down health care bill without a public option or single payer. It reminds me of that scene in Independence Day when the Israeli and Iraqi fighter pilots are giving each other the stink eye before they all join together to fight the (extraterresterial) aliens.
For my part, I won't spend my time or money in AZ, to include the annual Laughlin River Run--I may make an exception while riding through a reservation--I'll write letters and continue to contribue to progressive causes, including round-filing SB1070--and boycotting AZ in general until then, sure, I'm in.
But I'm not ready to make nice with La Raza. That's like making nice with teabaggers.
Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders.
VonButthead.
Like Michelle Malkin, you may have trouble distinguishing one Hispanic group from another.
http://www.nclr.org/content/viewpoints/detail...
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Knee jerk much, Ricky? No need to insult me with a Malkin ref. You either didn't go to college and meet the students of La Raza, or you're a little too quick to defend them on general principal. Your reading skills may need help--I was quite clear about one group, no other Hispanic, Latino or Mexican-American groups. My first hand experience was Chicano Studies at CSUN. Those students didn't represent their group well; the web link you offer wasn't around in the 1980s. It doesn't match their actions then. If you weren't one of them, you weren't worth their respect or consideration, never mind your politics or family.
Not exactly original on the insults, dude. Perhaps you ought to be pulling your head out.
Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders.
Lake Havasu is 95% gringo and heavily geezer. What's your problem?
Too many Mexicans or not enough metamucil?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Mr. Selig I hope you read the new Az law before you give this letter from "Americas Voice" any consideration since apparently they have not or do not understand that they can not stop or profile anyone based on their looks, skin color race. Read the actual law. Take the politics out of sports and just play the game! I wish they would take the game out of the politics. It would be a beginning to a better world.
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