The Arizona State Government recently passed a new immigration law that allows local and state officials to ask any person on the street to see their legal immigration papers, proving citizenship. The passing of this immigration law is a response to the lack of national government regulation on the borders. This law, however, has catalyzed criticism from many sources because it is blatant racial profiling. Most law officials will not ask a Caucasian white-collar worker for their citizenship papers, but most will ask a Hispanic blue-collar worker to see their papers clearly displaying racial profiling. People who support this law argue that it is a necessary law to cut down on the amount of illegal immigrants in the country for the lack of support from the national government.

The NBA's Phoenix Suns have worn their “Los Suns” jerseys in order to show their opposition to this law. The Suns wore these jerseys in hope of influencing the citizens or the government to retract the law. Some people, however, believe that this act by the Phoenix Suns has gone too far. Eric, a ninth-grader at Roslyn High School, said, “Sports should not mix with politics. Athletes have no place in a Congress building.”

The support of the team may out weigh the people's support of this law though. Steve Nash, the Suns' captain, is considered a hero in Phoenix and Arizona. Nash is against this law and his opinions may be passed on to the fans and citizens due to his unparalleled regional influence. Alex, a freshman, stated, “Arizona citizens will no longer have support in this law. The sports players and athletes of Phoenix are heroes and they have huge amounts of pull in the community.”

This has led to the question of whether sports teams or the government has a larger influence on the people. Our government, which is a republic in which people elect officials to represent themselves, should have the largest influence because it represents the people and their views. Sports teams, however, can have a larger influence because they have sports superstars, icons, and heroes who are part of the team's franchise. Would a typical citizen be influenced more by politician Chuck Schumer or by basketball superstar Lebron James? This view is not held by all citizens though. Mr. Vogt, an English teacher, said “No sports team holds sway over citizen reaction. Neither does the government. The government is supposed to look out for the minority, but this law does not represent the minority.” Sports teams are a source of entertainment and even a type of mental or emotional escape, while the government is the representation of the people and their views. Entertainment or emotional escape is a superficial pleasure of the American people, while representation of the American people and ideas will always be a reality in this country. The normal citizen will be influenced more by the government than a sports team because the government represents who the people really are, while sports teams are just sources of entertainment.