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ASG, MMXI

Valadius May 10 2010 08:46 PM

So my boss put out a press release about a letter our office wrote to the MLBPA urging a boycott of the 2011 All-Star Game over Arizona's new racial profiling law, and no one in our office expected the kind of publicity it ended up getting today.

Nymr83 May 10 2010 08:59 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

i urge a boycott of your boss for attempting to politicize baseball

Edgy DC May 10 2010 09:34 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

So says the guy with a political badge for an avatar. Seriously, though, you can't un-politicize it. People have their opinions and are entitled to express them.

Nymr83 May 10 2010 10:18 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

why cant you "un-politicize" it? there is nothing about the Diamondbacks, MLB, or the all-star game that is inherently involved with the Arizona immigration enforcement. Val's boss chose to try and connect the two, thus "politicizing" baseball where it was not previously. His (val's or menendez's, either one) being entitled to an opinion doesnt really have any bearing on that.

Edgy DC May 11 2010 07:17 AM Re: ASG, MMXI

why cant you "un-politicize" it? Because people have their opiinions and are entitled to express them. Senators certainly will. People have challenged their sports teams to do what they think is right, like, forever. We do it every day right here. The truth is that baseball was never a-political, as ten years of "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium II (and 90+ years of the National Anthem being performed) has made clear. It's just that --- operating in the popular marketplace --- the league, teams, and players have tended to keep their expressions as populist as possible. What generally keeps remotely radical positions out of sports isn't so much tradition and official policy, but (1) the tendency of people to keep things as mainstream as possible when their paychecks are on the line (see Woods, Eldrick, the phoniness of), and (2) the nature of team sports demanding people center their work around common values and to sublimate individual values and minority opinions (see Delgado, Carlos, the Americanization of).

HahnSolo May 11 2010 07:28 AM Re: ASG, MMXI

Why not boycott all Diamondbacks games; Cardinals games; Suns games; Coyotes games; all Spring Training games while they are at it. If the MLBPA really, truly felt this was worth boycotting, why wouldn't they boycott games that really mean something, like Diamondbacks regular season games. Why wouldn't they say, we won't report to camp if our camp is in Arizona. I'd have a lot more respect for a player who decided to sit out a series in Arizona and give up his paycheck for those three games than I would for players to boycott an All-Star game because their union rep told them to.

metsguyinmichigan May 11 2010 07:35 AM Re: ASG, MMXI

I think MLB should stay clear of political issues. The D-Backs have nothing to do with the Arizona Legislature. This is a very slippery slope. And, frankly, nothing but grandstanding from the politicos who are making these calls.

Gwreck May 11 2010 08:37 AM Re: ASG, MMXI

I doubt Major League Baseball itself would get involved but I have no problem with the individual players or their union generally being involved, as is their right to do. What I find frustrating is the general ineffectiveness of the way their opposition has organized (as mentioned above).

Nymr83 May 11 2010 08:44 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

People have challenged their sports teams to do what they think is right, How can the DBacks "do whats right" here? They didn't pass the allegedly bad law and they neither enforce it nor have the power to repeal it. if MLB was checking green cards at the turnstiles then you'd have a reason to boycott

Edgy DC May 11 2010 08:48 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

Why must you deliberately misread me? People have challenged their sports teams to do what they think is right, like, forever.

Nymr83 May 11 2010 09:13 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

how am i misreading you? you are saying people are challenging MLB to do what the people think is right and i am saying that MLB has no ability to do so. what am i missing?

Edgy DC May 11 2010 09:31 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

Can I spell it out any more? That's not what you said. You: How can the DBacks "do whats right" here? Me: People have challenged their sports teams to do what they think is right, Now, I'm certainly not going to be baited into taking up Menendez's position. At all. But Valadius clearly states that Menendez is putting whatever pressure he can muster on MLBPA, not the Arizona Diamondbacks, so you're mis-reading him, as well. Plus, you're shifting your argument from something about how sports shouldn't be politicized to something about how the Diamondbacks have no legislative power. I'd really rather not chase you around.

Nymr83 May 11 2010 09:43 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

the argument is the same. they have no power and therefore should not be the target of politically motivated boycotts. i admit i've conflated MLB and the d-backs here, but i think they're the same for purposes of this discussion. you can assume i said "mlb and the dbacks" wherever i mentioned either one.

Edgy DC May 11 2010 09:49 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

the argument is the same. It's very different. i admit i've conflated MLB and the d-backs here, but i think they're the same for purposes of this discussion. you can assume i said "mlb and the dbacks" wherever i mentioned either one. You're still wrong. It's the MLBPA. Come on. And you're making no distinction between who is being urged to boycott and who is being targeted with the urged boycott. Good night.

Ashie62 May 11 2010 10:01 PM Re: ASG, MMXI

Valadius wrote: So my boss put out a press release about a letter our office wrote to the MLBPA urging a boycott of the 2011 All-Star Game over Arizona's new racial profiling law, and no one in our office expected the kind of publicity it ended up getting today. It is not a racial profiling law. It is a law to enforce existing laws which have been ignored. It has nothing to do with professional sports