The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policy continues to encroach on the sports world. Last week saw one of the more direct instances of these worlds colliding in Phoenix, where Department of Homeland Security officials raided several Zipps Sports Grill locations.
According to local reports, federal agents arrested 39 employees based on a tip alleging that the popular local chain was knowingly employing undocumented migrants. The sudden raid drew crowds of protestors and made national news for the many who have traveled through Phoenix and dined at a Zipps over the years.
The story is like many across the country over the past year, which have in turn led to waves of protests that have, in some instances, turned violent. In Minneapolis last month, two protestors were killed by federal agents, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to postpone a game and ESPN’s Charles Barkley to address the nation live on-air.
“Two people have died for no reason, and it’s just sad,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA on Jan. 24, calling for government leaders to “step up and be adults.”
Now, Barkley has also addressed the Zipps Sports Grill situation, which happened in the city he has called home since he was traded to the Valley of the Sun in 1992.
In the season premiere episode of his podcast, The Steam Room, Barkley condemned the raids. The outspoken Barkley said that while he can get behind any federal government action to get rid of dangerous criminals, raiding a restaurant is “disingenuous and flat-out wrong.”
“Zipps is a sports bar,” Barkley said.
“I think the one thing we can all agree with in immigration, if people out here committing crimes, they gotta go. One-hundred percent. But I’m pretty sure El Chapo and Pablo Escobar are not flipping burgers at Zipps in their spare time, running cartels.
“So ICE, listen, if people are out here committing crimes, please take them away. We don’t want criminals. We don’t want any criminals, whether they’re immigrants or not. Get rid of all the criminals, in my opinion. But to be raiding sports bars, that’s disingenuous and just flat-out wrong. And it just bothers me, living in Arizona … to be raiding sports bars, that ain’t cool at all.”
https://youtu.be/TrDGzjn-9Ss?si=r_q6Uuazp6GWHZNT&t=657
Stories like Barkley’s show that people across the U.S. are dealing with the effects of the Trump administration’s intrusive immigration enforcement policies. A recent poll from Ipsos showed that 62 percent of respondents believed ICE has gone too far in dealing with unauthorized immigration into America.
As Barkley noted in his monologue, he is not one to shy away from hot-button political issues. But rather than weighing in on big national news stories, Barkley is highlighting how ICE’s efforts have affected a beloved staple of the sports community where he lives.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.