Highland Park High School scraps team trip to Arizona

Reveling in its first conference championship in 26 years, the Highland Park High School girls varsity basketball team has been selling cookies for months to raise funds for a tournament in Arizona. But those hoop dreams were dashed when players learned they couldn't go because of that state's new crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Safety concerns partly fueled the decision, but the trip also "would not be aligned with our beliefs and values," said District 113 Assistant Superintendent Suzan Hebson. That explanation, though, smacks of political protest to parents upset by the decision.

The news, which was broken to the team Monday by coach Jolie Bechtel, comes as critics of Arizona's controversial law call on professional athletes and others to boycott the state.

Last month a New York congressman asked Major League Baseball to pull next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix, and protesters recently picketed Wrigley Field when the Arizona Diamondbacks played the Cubs.

But tossing a high school team into the heated debate has left parents and players baffled and angry.

"Why are we mixing politics and a basketball tournament?" said Michael Evans, whose daughter Lauren is a junior on the team. "It's outrageous that they're doing this under the guise of safety."

Lauren Evans said she thought the concern was probably that one of the players could get stopped and questioned.

"It shouldn't be a problem," she said. "I don't think it makes much sense. We shouldn't be a threat. We just want to play basketball."

District 113 Superintendent George Fornero declined comment, saying it "wasn't just my decision." He referred calls to Hebson.

Hebson said Arizona is off-limits because of uncertainty about how the new law will be enforced. Signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer last month, it makes it a crime to be in the country illegally and requires police to check suspects for immigration paperwork.

Hebson said the turmoil is no place for students of Highland Park High School, which also draws from Highwood.

"We would want to ensure that all of our students had the opportunity to be included and be safe and be able to enjoy the experience," Hebson said of the tournament, which will be played in December. "We wouldn't necessarily be able to guarantee that."

Asked if there are undocumented players on the team, or if anyone associated with the team is in the country illegally, Hebson said she did not know.

Parents and players interviewed said they knew of no one who fits that description.

The high school's Web site boasts of a "relatively diverse" student population of 80 percent white, 15 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian and 2 percent African-American.

"Many of the parents feel that this should be resolved in the judicial court, not the basketball court," said Cynde Munzer, whose daughter, Lena, is a freshman on the team.

"I disagree personally with the Arizona legislation, but I also feel strongly about young women's rights," Munzer said. "They don't want to get involved in politics."

Subrina Collier, whose daughter Briana is a junior on the team, said even if someone were worried about presenting immigration papers in Arizona, it should be a personal decision to stay away. She called the administration decision a misplaced political statement.

The school district is looking for another tournament for the Giants, officials said.

The girls basketball team at Mundelein High School was in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December for the tournament hosted by Desert Mountain High School, said coach Brian Evans.

Evans called Desert Mountain High School "unbelievably hospitable" during his team's trip. Officials there declined comment about Highland Park's decision not to participate.

Meanwhile, other Chicago-area organizations continue to wrestle with their involvement in Arizona.

Local immigrants' rights activists delivered a letter Tuesday to the Chicago-based American Bar Association that urged the group to cancel a conference slated for this week in Arizona.

At Highland Park, basketball player Marguerite Biagi, a junior, said she disagrees with the law but still wants to visit Arizona.

"It's ultimately the state's decision, no matter what I think," she said. "Not playing basketball in Arizona is not going to change anything."

Cynthia Dizikes, Dan Simmons, Oscar Avila and Lisa Black contributed.

-- Jeff Long


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