Senator Robert Mendez, (D) New Jersey, is publicly lobbying Major League Baseball to boycott next years All Star Game, which is to be held in Arizona. In response to Senator Mendez’s effort I have one word. Why?
We are a nation of laws, and a sports league is a league of rules. Should Major League Baseball also ignore the rules about performance-enhancing drugs, spitballs, and corked bats? Whether it is the nation or the MLB, laws and rules of play safeguard the integrity of the organization.
According to Governor Jan Brewer, the Arizona law does nothing but take existing Federal law and make it State law. Wouldn’t it be a novel idea if Mendez or any U.S. official actually advocated enforcing the Federal laws that are currently on the books? Illegal means Not Legal.
We, as a nation, seem to have lost respect for the words; illegal, immoral, and unethical. We must eventually realize that we are creating a new paradigm where individual desire is more important than the welfare of our neighbors, fellow citizens, teammates, or the rule of law.
We have come to accept lies and political correctness as wisdom and fairness. For example; gay rights proponents ask for tolerance, but the context in which it is used actually means acceptance. We are told that they want equal rights. The last time I looked, a gay man can marry the woman of his choice in any state the same as the rest of the male population. Their term, “equal rights,” means “special rights.” We accept the lie. Illegal immigrants do jobs that American’s don’t want to do, like fruit picking. What they actually do is construction, manufacturing, yard services, sales, roofing, etc. These are also jobs that most Americans won’t accept, right?
After we finish teaching the next generation by these narcissistic examples, how many athletes are going to feel obligated to follow the rules of their respective leagues? How will we be able to trust the referees and how many more athletes will cheat in new ways?
Athletes are products of our society, and they will learn their morals as children do – by what is seen. Are we doomed to endure a daily barrage of Enron’s and World Com’s; of Ben Johnson’s and Marion Jones’; or Tim Donaghy’s? We need to earn our success. Cheating the rules is stealing and deception is generally used to get something to which you are otherwise not entitled.
The drain from illegal immigration on our economy is substantial. Arizona saw the trend in crime and the money spent to keep illegal prisoners. There is also a drug war just across their southern border, a tangible threat to the safety of the Southern Arizona citizens. Illegals use county emergency rooms for medical care and if allowed to stay may eventually end up on Social Security with little or no contributions. If this trend continues, sports franchises may ultimately lose public support due to the fan’s financial hardship. Haitians, Russians, French, Mexican, or whatever: go home and come back legally.
For the future integrity of our nation and all sports, we need to adhere to what made us a great nation. Our morality comes from a higher power to which we are ultimately responsible. We respect our leader’s authority, and expect those leaders to respect the laws as written. We also respect ourselves enough to have personal integrity. These expectations are not written in the U.S. Constitution, but were inferred. The founding fathers letters and notes to each other specifically stated that without a strong religious base, no law or rule is worth the paper on which it is written.
To paraphrase Jim Brown’s question to Richard Pryor, “Whatcha gon’ do baseball?”
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