Los Suns Rising

Good for Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns, they're making a statement tonight in their Game 2 faceoff against the Spurs tonight, honoring Arizona's Latino community on Cinco de Mayo by wearing "Los Suns" on their jerseys, and it's something of a bipartisan effort:

Team owner Robert Sarver, a Republican, said the jerseys will “honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona and our nation.” Sarver also made clear in a statement that the selection of the Spanish-language jersey — which will coincide with Cinco de Mayo — is a political statement against Arizona’s new anti-immigrant law:

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.

Considering three of the game' stars are immigrants (Steve Nash is from Canada, and San Antonio's Manu Ginobili is from Argentina, and the Spurs' Tony Parker is French) that's a strong statement from the NBA.  Nash himself went a step further yesterday at the Cinco de Mayo announcement:

"I think the law is very misguided. I think it is unfortunately to the detriment to our society and our civil liberties and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in," Nash said of the bill. "I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don't want to see and don't need to see in 2010."

It's good to see Nash do this, but it's outstanding to see Sarver, the owner, make this statement as well.

Viva Los Suns!