Globetrotters Cancel Games in Arizona

PHOENIX — The Harlem Globetrotters have canceled two games scheduled for January in Arizona because the state still does not have a paid holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.

The games were to be played Jan. 28 in Tucson and Jan. 29 in Tempe.

Arizona voters narrowly rejected a paid state holiday in honor of King 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.”