It's Not all Fun and Games

Dr. Anthony Borgese extensively analyzed the issues with immigration in professional sports. It is an important text because it provides specific information that details the labor and immigration concerns of athletes—legally, culturally, politically, and in other ways. He begins by pointing out the discrepancy between Americans’ opinions of immigrants who come to work in any available labor position and immigrants who come to play sports. “Citizens get upset because when these immigrants arrive, they have to find jobs in order to survive. Most immigrants take on menial jobs that American citizens do not want, like a bus boy, or a food delivery person. However, most citizens turn the other cheek when the immigrant is a sports star.” Instead of being concerned with whether or not they are taking jobs from other Americans, we value foreign athletes, as long as they can help our teams. Since athletes are so popular to the fans, we often do not realize the different ramifications and obstacles that they face. We think that they just come to play the game, make money, and win championships, but a great deal goes into both getting them here and keeping them here. Borgese seeks to explain and these things so that us fans truly grasp what is going on with immigration in sports.
As for the legal aspect of immigration in sports, there is a lot to deal with. Borgese explains the categories of visas that athletes can apply for. One, the “P” category, is for “athletes and entertainers” specifically, whereas an “O” visa is for “workers with extraordinary abilities”. No matter what visa a player obtains, the primary stipulation of both of them is that they do not plan on staying in the United States permanently. They play their sport for the season, however long their career may last, and then they return to the country they came from. Borgese says, “Basically, what the government wants to know is that he will return to his country once he has finished performing.” This point is worth noting because it shows that the United States is willing to allow these athletes to come into the country to play, but if they wanted to stay here it would be a whole different ballgame, so to speak. This also means that Cuban athletes, who defect from their country, would have to establish residency in a country other than the United States in order to play in the United States.
Why does all of this matter? Well, Borgese’s argument is that while US citizens don’t seem to mind when athletes come to their country to play sports, they aren’t really immigrating to the United States. They are there temporarily, and are expected to leave afterwards. His argument is more for the education of these players, so they can be successful temporary citizens—paying taxes, having their visa in order, and other contract issues. They need representation that can help them understand all of these intricacies. While it appears as though athletes get special treatment when they are trying to come to the United States, Borgese is arguing that the treatment of foreign professional athletes is completely legal because of the different categorizations. It might be easier for them to get into the country, but most other immigrants coming in want to stay permanently, so there has to be a divergence in the handling of athletes and other foreigners.
Borgese’s piece is important because it answers questions about every aspect of athletes’ immigration, even though this just focused on the legal side. This could be beneficial to the project because it gives all of the information that is hard to find elsewhere in one place. It portrays playing sports in the United States as a complicated process that is not fully understood by anyone, maybe not even the athletes who have to do it. Most news about athletes who leave their homes to play sports in the US deals with why they would want to do that. What makes them want to come to the United States? Why would they rather play here than in their home country? This article deals with what the players have to go through to get here and once they do. All of the sections of this piece, not just legal, offer essential information about the immigration process, and shed new light on what it takes to play sports here.