This past weekend I came across an article on AlterNet about how immigrants in sports are turned into national heroes in the United States, while public policy and public practice immigrants, especially Latino immigrants are vilified.

The article places the dichotomy in the context of the last World Series.

The symbolism of delivering a crushing defeat to the Rangers, with Bush Jr. slumped in the front row with his chin in his fist, inspired legions of San Franciscans. At the ceremony awarding the Giants the key to the city, Republican Governor Schwarzenegger spoke over hundreds of thousands of people booing for the duration of his remarks. When the moderate mayor spoke, the crowd cheered initially, but the booing far outlasted the cheers.

In the midst of all the vocal opposition to the right, there was one thing that almost no one was talking about: how much people categorized as immigrants had contributed to the unprecedented success. The players and coaches we showered with cheers and ticker tape hail from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Curaçao, France, Panama. Their families came from the Philippines, Mexico and Japan.

The omission was perhaps most stark when a bouncy television reporter from ABC picked out a fan in the barricaded crowd for a sound bite. The first person she spoke with didn’t want to reply — he said he didn’t speak English. She quickly moved on to another fan, evading the obvious: that San Francisco is immigrants and families of immigrants, just like the rest of the state and much of the nation.

New York City is also a city of immigrants in the United States and almost as if on cue , Latino Sports TV highlights how NYC sports commentator/reporter Mike Francesa of WFAN’s 660 on the am dial, made a comment about the English language abilities of the players of the New York Mets, who happen to be based in Queens, my borough but also the most diverse borough in the city.

What Francesca misses is that this is not about insulting the Mets but rather Latinos,especially those who who may or may not be English dominant. It’s no joke the way Latin Americans, especially in the Dominican Republic are recruited for that one in a million chance of making it in the big leagues ( remember the film Sugar?). What is no joke is how speaking Spanish in today’s anti-immigrant climate has gotten people beat up or worse. What is also missing is the acknowledgment that people of color in sports, and in this case immigrant Latinos, exist for the entertainment of the masses, be it on the field or as the punchline of a joke.

There is a campaign to to call the radio station : corporate #: 212-242-6190 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              212-242-6190      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or call the show at 877-337-6666.