The Harlem Globetrotters canceled two games scheduled...
The Harlem Globetrotters canceled two games scheduled for January in Arizona because the state does not have a paid holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The games were to have been played Jan. 28 in Tucson and Jan. 29 in Tempe.
Arizona voters narrowly rejected a paid state King holiday in last week’s general election.
Tommy Scallen, executive vice president of the Globetrotters, said the all-black team formed in 1927 “is an institution born out of segregation. To our people, it’s not a matter of whether state employees work. The ultimate test is the way people are viewing Arizona, that the state is not recognizing the achievements of Dr. King and the struggles of blacks in America.
“(King) represents to my guys something very, very special. No way can I put them in a position of compromising their feelings.”
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