Girls’ basketball: Prep team cancels trip to Arizona

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Politics and sports are about to converge in Arizona because of the state’s new law that cracks down on illegal immigrants.

Chicago’s Highland Park High School girls’ basketball team has been forced to cancel a trip to Arizona for a tournament for safety concerns, according to an assistant district superintendent.

There are lots of high school sporting events held in Arizona, and the question is whether teams from neighboring states are going to follow Highland Park.

In Southern California, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake sent its girls’ basketball and baseball teams to Arizona for tournaments, and the head of athletics, Audrius Barzdukas, said he plans to discuss with school officials how they will respond to the issue of whether to boycott the state.

‘We have an opportunity to send a message,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if it’s better to play or not.’

-- Eric Sondheimer