Arizona governor Jan Brewer vetoes SB 1062
By Stu White
Arizona governor Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062 on Wednesday night, effectively terminating the concerns that the NFL would relocate next year’s Super Bowl from Glendale due to the bill’s controversial — let’s be frank: completely indefensible — nature.
The bill, had it become law, would have allowed Arizona businesses to refuse patrons service on the basis of religious convictions.
Brewer’s veto is just what the Arizona Super Bow Host Committee wanted. The group issued the following statement earlier in the week:
"We share the NFL’s core values which embrace tolerance, diversity, inclusiveness and prohibit discrimination. In addition, a key part of the mission for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee is to promote the economic vitality of Arizona. On that matter we have heard loud and clear from our various stakeholders that adoption of this legislation would not only run contrary to that goal but deal a significant blow to the state’s economic growth potential. We do not support this legislation. Instead, we look forward to continuing to promote the NFL’s values while focusing on the economic momentum apparent in Arizona and capturing the positive worldwide attention associated with hosting Super Bowl XLIX."
It’s worth noting that only once in Super Bowl history has the NFL relocated the game. That occurred in 1993, when the league moved Super Bowl XXVII to Los Angeles after Arizona’s refusal to recognize Martin Luther King Junior Day as an official state holiday.
[Source: ESPN]