Latin baseball players demanding boycott of Arizona all star game

This is a message for these baseball players, if you are going to talk on this issue at least have a damn clue what is the issue. No Latin person is going to be randomly picked out of a crowd and asked for papers. The process which is also a codification of federal law goes just a bit deeper. Unless you want a political and public backlash, learn up or shut up.

The television ratings for baseball's All-Star game were abysmal but Bud Selig has other worries concerning the annual Midsummer Classic.

Major League Baseball's longtime commissioner has to deal with a small but growing movement that wants to either boycott or move next year's All-Star game, in Phoenix, Arizona.

At issue is Arizona's pending immigration law, allowing police to check the immigration status of people they stop for other reasons, if they are "reasonably suspected" of being in the country illegally.

The law makes the failure to carry formal immigration documents illegal. It will be the first state law of its type in the United States.

Immigration rights groups argue that the new law, scheduled to take effect July 29, is discriminatory. The U.S. Justice Department is suing Arizona to stop its enactment.

Latinos, who comprise 27 percent of MLB's players, have begun to add their voices to the chorus of opposition.

Among them is Kansas City Royals pitcher Joakim Soria, a Mexican, who is in his fourth season in the majors.

"They could stop me and ask to see my papers," Soria said. "I have to stand with my Latin community on this."

Soria's manager, Oscar Suarez, who manages seven other Latino players, said their opposition to the law is not political.

"The thing for them is it is more a humanitarian issue than mixing politics with sports," Suarez said. "They want people to be treated fairly, and pay their taxes and do things the right way in America."

The right way is also not being here illegally.