The Phoenix Suns have changed the name on their jerseys to Los Suns, protesting the recently passed Arizona immigration law. . Suns owner Robert Sarver announced his intention to distribute new jersey’s to the team, in bright orange with the team name to Los Suns ahead of their May 5 playoff game against San Antonio. Some individuals may even want to put some fast cash into getting replicas.
NBA sides with Los Suns
According to an article on AZcentral, the NBA as an organization stands behind the decision to change the jerseys to Los Suns in protest of the Arizona immigration law. There have been calls to boycott Arizona sports teams, including for Bud Selig to move the MLB All Star game out of Arizona in 2011. The NBA commissioner, David Stern, felt the jerseys weren’t out of bounds within the least.
The San Antonio Spurs are behind Los Suns on and off the court
The San Antonio Spurs and the NBA Players Union both hailed the Suns for their actions. They weren’t in favor of losing to Los Suns on Cinco De Mayo, which they did 110 points to 102. (They also lost Game 1, 111-102.) They are 2 games behind Los Suns. The San Antonio Spurs supposedly wanted to change their name to Los Spurs also, but could not get the jerseys in time. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hailed the Suns for their courage and lambasted the bill for its vicious nature.
Slam dunk with Los Suns players
The Phoenix Suns had previously worn the very same jerseys in March for NBA Noche Latina night, and Sarver decided to get them out of storage. Steve Nash, a Canadian citizen born in South Africa, and Los Suns player, condemned the bill. He believes it presents too easy an opportunity for an egregious abuse of civil liberties. The Los Suns jersey had a mixed response from Arizonans, though the jerseys were unanimously approved by the Phoenix Suns players.
Citations
AZcentral
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/05/04/20100504phoenix-suns-los-suns-jerseys.html
