MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner on Friday issued a second statement on the controversial Arizona immigration law that has been likened by many to racial profiling. Weiner decried the law last year, but with key portions of the measure now tied up in federal legal disputes, he said Friday that he has not advised players to boycott next week's MLB All-Star Game events in Phoenix. The game "is a chance to celebrate Major League Baseball's unprejudiced commitment to excellence -- a commitment, undiminished for decades, to judge solely on the basis of individual ability and achievement," Weiner said.
Several protests and a ribbon campaign are still planned near and around All-Star Game events next week to raise awareness of the SB 1070 immigration law. But Weiner in his statement said, "Our nation continues to wrestle with serious issues regarding immigration, prejudice and the protection of individual liberties. Those matters will not be resolved at Chase Field, or on any baseball diamond; instead they will be addressed in Congress and in statehouses and in courts."
