first off Im not much of a basketball fan but I saw this article on yahoo and thought how stupid this is.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Suns-will-wear-Los-Suns-unis-to-honor-Phoenix-?urn=nba,238682

First off why does the NBA feel they need to make a statement?
Second, Steve Nash needs to keep his mouth shut. He gets paid millions of dollars a year to play a game. Its no wonder he feels that way considering he is from canada.
Last all the teams putting the los on their jerseys look ridiculous. I thought it was stupid since the first time I saw the spurs do it.

end rant

I don't care for the "los" team jerseys, but it's not political, it's marketing. The NBA, and NBA teams aren't trying to shape policy or make a statement, there trying to promote team loyalty in a sub segment of their markets. That's it.

The quotes from Sarver, Nash, and Hunter are all political statements. They also achieve the marketing objective, but they are political.

I don't watch you retards for political commentary. You are entertainers. Entertain me. Wear the jerseys, that's fine. But stop it there.

i wonder if pro athletes think about couch coaches talking sports, the same way couch coaches think about athletes talking politics

if that made any sense

steve doesn't want his maid, lawn guy and pool boy deported that's all

Should be "Los Soles", if they wanted to be accurate, but that would require some thinking by people and we can't be having any of that thinking **** going on.

Every time I saw "Los Spurs", I thought of this:

El Nino

On SA TV news tonight, Pop supported the move -- comparing it to the Patriot Act.

NBA may regret getting involved in this stuff --

Nash is a Canadian. He should STFU.

The NBA needs to shut up about politics. They have NO business taking some political stand.

I hope this hurts the NBA.

They have no business doing this ****.

Adrian Gonzalez(SD Padres) has come out and said he won't play at the All Star game in 2011 if it's in AZ, and there are now calls for MLB to change the destination.

I'll be absolutely SHOCKED if Selig does anything.

It will be interesting to watch how he handles the situation. I'd put good money that he'll wait a while, then when he does say something he'll completely stay out of the politics and stay neutral.

The NBA is screwing the pooch with this.

It absolutely infuriates me that foreigners will come to America, benefit from being here, and then publicly denigrate or try to influence the decisions we make. I've rarely been so angry as when a French student I knew was obnoxiously campaigning for Obama.

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I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties.

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I like the intent of the law but the guy from Canadia is right about the above. Requiring me to carry an ID...why don't they just tattoo our # on us somewhere.

PS
I agree that the NBA and celebrities in general should stay out of politics.



[This message has been edited by BBDP (edited 5/5/2010 7:52a).]

Yeah, they ought to stay out of politics, but my guess is most of you wouldn't be so upset about it if their opinion was more in line with yours. Personally I couldn't care less if they were vocal communists wearing hammers and sickles on their jerseys, as long as they go out and play their asses off, which Nash always does.

And that law is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Whether or not you think it is a good idea (which I do), it will get challenged in court, and it will ultimately fail, because it is blatantly unconstitutional.

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PS
I agree that the NBA and celebrities in general should stay out of politics.

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Unless they happen to be republicans.....right?

Its a free country, this aint communist China, or some chithole in the middle east.

If famous people and athletes want their opinions known.....then they have the right to do that.

Yes, and I have the right to disagree with their stupid, hypocritical, and gratuitous opinions.

If I were an Arizona reporter I'd ask Pop what his opinion is on abortion, and what party he's registered with, and who he voted for in the last presidential election. He wouldn't be too happy with that.

I'd also ask Nash and Ginobli if they feel it's OK for Americans living in Canada and Argentina to get involved in local politics there. Somehow I doubt they'd be happy about the NBA taking a stand against French being required in Quebec...

I have been a Spurs fan for decades, but this really turns me off........

[This message has been edited by OldArmy71 (edited 5/5/2010 11:08a).]

And Kellso and Mass, sorry, but those are two dumb posts. I don't want entertainers--and certainly not the NBA itself--endorsing ANY political position.

Pretty sure we have had entertainers as Governors and Presidents.

They're perfectly free to use their celebrity to do that, but they are also perfectly free to feel the repercussions of their actions now, as is the NBA.

There are a lot of pissed off people with this, especially when it comes from a freaking Canadian leading the vocal charge.

When they spout it, they are wrong about the law 99% of the time, and they aren't even paying attention that it's been amended already multiple times to clarify it.

I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to walk around with an ID. Reasonable suspicion is now classified as running over the border or through private property on the border, and after you've been pulled over for committing on offense they can ask for your papers if you can't provide your license or license number.

I've been pulled over and dealt with cops a lot of times in my relatively short time on Earth, and every single time I've been asked to provide identification. When I haven't had it, I was able to provide my license number and DOB so they could verify who I am. I'm white.

Cops aren't going to be walking around asking Mexicans for their papers. That's ridiculous.

Now...ALL that being said...being a libertarian who believes strongly in the Constitution and upholding Her, I'm not 100% in favor of a state enforcing what should be federal law. However, the federal government for YEARS has not done a damn thing to fix it, and left our border states out to dry, so I have no problem with a state temporarily fixing that. I hope the Federal government claims Supremacy clause and actually gets off its ass to do SOMETHING to fix this problem. Having ranch owners and sheriff's die every month at the expense of thousands of more illegals flooding into our country simply will not be acceptable.

I'd also wonder what Steve Nash thinks about the Mexican's shoot-to-kill policy at their southern border with Guatemala?

[This message has been edited by J Peterman (edited 5/5/2010 11:24a).]

+1 for JP

Clay, if you can't tell the difference between a foreign basketball player using his fame to comment on American politics and someone who got himself or herself elected to a position, I don't know what to say to you.

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Unless they happen to be republicans.....right?

Its a free country, this aint communist China, or some chithole in the middle east.

If famous people and athletes want their opinions known.....then they have the right to do that.

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They are in the entertainment business/popularity business. They need to stay main stream to sell their product best.

They have the right to voice their opinions but should not be surprised when they don't get the $$$ on their next contract because they turn off fans and more importantly...owners.

If Americans would impose their values on their wallets, Hollywood etc would be much less vocal.

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And Kellso and Mass, sorry, but those are two dumb posts. I don't want entertainers--and certainly not the NBA itself--endorsing ANY political position

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Yours is a dumb post.

This is America.....this aint the freakin taliban.

Im gonna say it again. This is AMERICA.

People have the right to say and endorse whatever and whoever the hell they want.

Your vote and my vote is worth just the same as an athlete with millions in the bank, or some hillbilly living in the mountains.

And Im sorry....I have a hard time believing you would be so against famous people opinions if more of them were like Jon Voight or Ted Nugent.

Jon Voight is one of my favorite actors of all time and I could give two chits that he is a right wing republican.

Voight has every right to brodcast his viewS, just like Steve Nash, Greg Popovich, or Billy Hunter.

JP got it right. The law may not have been what anyone would have like to have happen, but if the federal government is going to do nothing, I think AZ has a right to take a stand.

And, I agree with upholding the Constitution...the U.S. Constitution. It belongs to the people of this country, not people who are here ilegally or on a work (NBA) visa.

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If I were an Arizona reporter I'd ask Pop what his opinion is on abortion, and what party he's registered with, and who he voted for in the last presidential election. He wouldn't be too happy with that.

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Greg Popovich is a major donor to Democrats....but Im not sure why he would get angry.

That question doesnt have much of anything to do with basketball.

If he came out and said George Bush sucks and vote for Obama....then that sort of question is fair game.

Kellso, you are one heck of a guy. You can read my mind and predict my actions. Goodness. You should go on stage.

Ted Nugent is a moron.

I'm a diehard... something, whatever the opposite of a liberal is these days. Conservative is now just a different set of liberal policies. Anyway, one the best things I've heard an actor say was liberal Harrison Ford. He would decline do comment on politics because, "one vote is all I want," or words to that effect.

Does that mean I think popular figures should never comment on politics? Well, I would prefer it but there is nothing wrong about it. On the other hand, taking American politics to other countries (see: Obama campaigning in Germany, Dixie Chicks fiasco) or other nationalities trying to influence American politics, I don't see any place for that. Especially when it's some moron boundyball player, stfu and bounce your ball. You have no inherent authority, no moral high ground, and no particular expertise. If you don't like it, retire and go home (with the millions and millions of dollars you've made in our country, if you are Nash).

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Voight has every right to brodcast his viewS, just like Steve Nash,

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Is Steve Nash a citizen?

If not...you contradict yourself above.

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Greg Popovich is a major donor to Democrats

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ditto

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Is Steve Nash a citizen?

If not...you contradict yourself above

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Non citizens also have right to free speech....even when we disagree with their opinions.

This is one of the biggest reasons America is the best country in the world.

You guys should go live in Cuba where opposing view points are muted.

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And Kellso and Mass, sorry, but those are two dumb posts. I don't want entertainers--and certainly not the NBA itself--endorsing ANY political position.

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No matter what you think of my post, IT IS A FACT that threads like this usually only get started in Texags.com when the rant is anti-liberal. My guess is that the negative backlash attached to the comments in that article would not have made an appearance on this website had it been, say, Steve Nash bemoaning Obamacare.

No way to know for sure, just a hunch. In any event, my initial post was directed to those who posted prior to myself. I don't see your name there, OldArmy71, unless you presume to speak for all of them as well? Just because you don't want your entertainers to have a brain doesn't mean the rest of us should necessarily follow suit.

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You guys should go live in Cuba where opposing view points are muted.

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please don't over-dramatize this thread. You are in a ***** fight with 1 man. Everyone else on the thread agrees that they have every right to speak, but they will also deal with the consequences of them using their celebrity to speak.

Don't lump us in with one guy that you are *****ing with.

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please don't over-dramatize this thread. You are in a ***** fight with 1 man. Everyone else on the thread agrees that they have every right to speak, but they will also deal with the consequences of them using their celebrity to speak.

Don't lump us in with one guy that you are *****ing with.

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BBDP and OldArmy are the same person?

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The quotes from Sarver

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I thought the quote from Sarver was quite tame. 1) it admitted that their is a problem with illegal immigration that the Fed govt has ignored. 2) it never actually said the new law violated human rights. 3) it did say it was a "flawed law" and that it created "questions" concerning human rights.

And the NBA can make whatever political statement they want. if you don't like, don't watch the NBA.

(I'm not opposed to the AZ law, by the way).