Steve Nash Discusses SB 1070 After Suns' Game 2 Win
5/06/2010 2:46 AM ET By
Brett Pollakoff
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- Brett Pollakoff
- NBA Blogger
PHOENIX -- The
Suns made a splash outside the world of sports on Tuesday when their team's owner Robert Sarver
went on the record against
Arizona's controversial new immigration law, SB 1070. The players agreed with the stance, and petitioned the league to wear their Los Suns uniforms as a sign of support for the Latino members of the Arizona community.
After Wednesday's Game 2 win over the Spurs,
Steve Nash discussed the pride he felt in supporting the Latino community, and went on to discuss the importance of why he believes the law, in its current form, is something he's not willing to endorse.
"The whole Los Suns/Cinco de Mayo situation is a tricky one," Nash said. "I'll speak for myself -- I was proud to wear the jersey. We take pride in the Latino community, and we feel a sense of community with them. I think our Latino community is what makes this state great, because it gives us a diversity and a lifestyle I think that is great.
"I think it's important that we stand up sometimes for what we believe," Nash continued. "I don't want to alienate anybody; those people that disagree with me, that's fine. I think discourse is what democracy is made on, and I think it's not something that you should necessarily take personally.
"My team stood up for that part of our community because I think that's the one that is targeted by the side of this bill that could open a door to racial profiling and racism. And I'm talking primarily about American citizens who are Latino, who now, their quality of life and freedoms could change because of this bill. I think it also puts an undue pressure on police officers.
"Having said that, the bill is continually changing, and it seems that it will continue to change. So it's impossible to have a stance that is black and white and all or nothing, because it's going to continue to change.
"I'm proud of our owner for taking a stand, but we're not out there to alienate, we want this to be all about loving our community and people regardless of whether they agree with us or myself, or not. We have love for everybody, and we'd just like to get to a consensus that everyone can live with, and that isn't an infringement, or a possible infringement, on human rights."