Baseball All-Star Game Hit With Boycott Pitch

July 12, 2010— -- Opponents of Arizona's new immigration law have stepped up the pressure on Commissioner Bud Selig to pull next year's All-Star game out of Phoenix, coinciding with preparations for Major League Baseball's annual game Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif.

A coalition of human rights groups, clergy, immigrant advocates MoveOn.org and labor unions called Move the Game presented Selig with a 100,000-signature petition today, urging him to steer clear of Arizona.

"We want to use the Arizona spotlight for the 2011 All-Star Game to highlight the great shame that Arizona brings on itself and on the entire country," said Roberto Lovato, one of Move the Game's organizers and co-founder of Presente.org, a group seeking the political empowerment of Latinos.

There are "grave concerns about Arizona's racist laws" from fans and players who want to attend the 2011 game, Lovato said. The law gives police broad powers to detain anybody they suspect is in the country illegally, which, critics have said, will lead to racial profiling and the harassment of Hispanics.

Selig has refused to say whether the league will move next summer's game. Indeed, he has said very little about the issue except telling reporters in May that Major League Baseball has a long record of minority hiring and played a key role in civil rights movement.

"We've done well. And we'll continue to do well," Selig said after an owners meeting May 13. "And I'm proud of what we've done socially, and I'll continue to be proud of it. That's the issue, and that's the answer."