Nash Builds Bridges

by Eric Martin

Via JanieM,kudos to the Phoenix Suns (as well as the Spurs and the NBA in general) for speaking out against Arizona's discriminatory and bigoted immigration law.  Some excerpts:

The team will be wearing its "Los Suns" jerseys for Wednesday night's Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs "to honor [the] Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation." Awesome.

The decision to wear the jerseys came from way up the corporate ladder, as team owner Robert Sarver suggested the team wear their Noche Latina alternates.

Sarver, who was born and raised in Tucson, said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

"However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question," he said, "and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

The Suns voted on the jerseys and unanimously decided to wear them for Cinco De Mayo. As if he weren't likeable enough, Phoenix guard Steve Nash(notes) succinctly summed up the Suns' feelings on the issue.

"I think it's fantastic," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "I think the law is very misguided. I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it's very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us."

And it's not just the Suns who are speaking out on this issue.

Well said Mr. Nash. This provides an excellent segue to tell my own brief Steve Nash story. 

This past late summer/early fall, I was waiting for some friends at the bar in one of my neighborhood locals.  While I was watching the Yanks on the TV above the liquor bottles, over my shoulder, someone ordered two pints of Guinness. When I turned around to see who it was, to my mild amazement, I see that it's Steve Nash - dressed rather unassuming, hanging with a friend.  After Nash paid for the pints, he put a $5 bill on the bar as tip (nothing extravagant, but solidly generous nonetheless). 

At that point, however, someone opened the door and a gust of wind blew the $5 bill into a tall garbage pail next to the bar.  As the bartender moved toward the garbage to fish out the money, Nash waved him off (more than once) and proceeded to dig around at the bottom of the pail until he found it himself, returning it to the bartender.  It wasn't anything heroic, for certain, but I thought it was kind of a classy, non-self important thing to do - evincing a sentiment often lacking in people with lots of money and fame. 

Comments

[dr ngo]

Excellent anecdotes, only slightly flawed by the fact that Steve Nash is Canadian, and therefore likelier (IMHO) to be critical of a stupid American law AND nicer as a person. Reinforcing the stereotype rather than standing as a symbol of what's best about US.
Unfortunately.

[John Thullen]

Canadian?

Damn.

Groucho: Why, a decent American could tell you the Arizona law is unAmerican.

Someone run out and find me a Canadian!

[Marty]

Interestingly, he is a Canadian Landed Immigrant born in South Africa. Which explains even better. And one of the sports people I still hold out as someone to have your kids look up to.

[Bernard Yomtov]

Excellent anecdotes, only slightly flawed by the fact that Steve Nash is Canadian,..

So does this fall under "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative?"

[nous]

Worse yet...he's a soccer fan. That pretty much puts him firmly in the camp of latte-sipping-surrender-monkeys by default, eh?

[Atlantys]

Steve Nash went to my high school: he was a couple years ahead of me, so I guess that means I went to his high school.

He's amazing at any sport: I saw him play soccer a couple times and he's ridiculously good at that as well.

I knew his sister and their dad: she played soccer (and was amazing) and he was the coach.

The Arizona law is ridiculous, but in a completely different meaning.

[Mike Schilling]

I must admit that if I were Steve Nash, I'd have reached in my wallet for a different five dollar bill.

[Tony P.]

Mike, you remind me of an old story about a football (baseball? basketball?) player who walks into the team bathroom and sees a teammate throwing a five-dollar bill into the toilet. He asks, "What the hell?!"

The teammate replies: "I dropped a quarter in there. You don't think I'm gonna stick my hand in the toilet for a lousy 25 cents, do you?"

--TP

[Mike Schilling]

LOL. (Truly, I did.)