Ozzie Guillen suspended 5 games

[jerichoholicninja]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120410&content_id=28317734&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

It was stupid to say what he said but to be suspended for it seems ridiculous.

[Warning Track Power]

I think you're very wrong here Jericho.

 

Many Cubans have risked their lives by going into the ocean on planks of wood to leave Castro's oppressive regime. Additionally, Cubans are a huge part of the Miami culture and Cuban Americans likely represent a good portion of the Marlins fan base.

 

I think no response and/or no punishment from the Marlins would have far greater ramifications for the Marlins than a 5 game suspension for Ozzie.

[RightFieldCoder]

I think the Marlins did a good job by handing out the suspension themselves. Especially since he was hired to appeal to the Hispanic community down there.

[Dragonbait]

I'm fine with the suspension as long as it's coming from the Marlins..

 

At first I though MLB suspended him...

[adamb100]

I think this is all silly. I disagree with the Marlins suspending him. I'm not turning this into a political thread though so I wont go further.

[3and2Fastball]

5 games seems a little excessive but hey I understand they really need to work the Public Relations in South Florida

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm fine with the suspension as long as it's coming from the Marlins..

 

At first I though MLB suspended him...

 

That was big part of it for me. I thought MLB did it too, but if it's the Marlins that's different. They can do whatever they want with their own guys.

 

I still think a suspension is ridiculous when half of the words Ozzie says are expletives, condescending, or down right offensive and nobody says anything.

[xisxisxis]

I think this is all silly. I disagree with the Marlins suspending him. I'm not turning this into a political thread though so I wont go further.

 

I'm not sure what the politics is in this situation. Tens to hundreds of thousands of Cubans have lost their LIVES simply because they voiced opposition to Castro. Agree or disagree with the embargo, but the fact is he's a killer and if one of my employees went out of his way to shower praise and admiration his way publicly while representing my organization then (s)he'd be looking for a new job not a 5 day break.

[adamb100]

I know what Fidel Castro did, he's a bad person. However people are entitled to their opinion and if Ozzie likes/admires Castro then good for him. I just find it silly to suspend him over it. I'm not saying that Ozzie was smart to publicly announce his love for Castro but I wouldn't suspend him either. I would just move on from it.

 

I have no connection to Cuba whatsoever so maybe it's hard for me to relate to what Ozzie said.

[pebadger]

I lived in South Florida for a number of years about 20 years ago. All I'll say is that you really can't have a full appreciation of the situation down there without having really been exposed to it. If he had said the same thing just 20 years ago (yes, the Marlins didn't exist then, but hypothetically) I don't think he would have kept his job.

[Fear The Chorizo]

One of the biggest positives in the eyes of Marlins' ownership about hiring Guillen was that him being a Latin player & manager may help them increase the level of local latin fan interest in the team - namely the large contingent of people having cuban bloodlines around Miami. They had put together alot of their advertising and promotions based on that premise. So naturally Guillen goes out and speaks favorably about the dictator all of these people's families fled from.

 

Talk about punching your bosses in the gut right from jump street

[JimH5]

We can opine all we want about it, but it's strictly a local issue for Marlins ownership and the fan base they are trying to attract.

 

The 5-game suspension, AND Guillen's apology and outreach to the Cuban-American population will be enough to satisfy them IF it's enough to satisfy them. If its not enough, then it could cost him his job. Those fans will decide. My prediction is he's going to lose his job.

 

His comments didn't offend me as much, I just thought they were stupid, made by a guy who has lived his life as a blowhard. But I'm not Cuban, nor do I have family members who have suffered under Castro's dictatorial regime. I don't know anyone who left Cuba (or died trying). And, they aren't my tax dollars going to pay for the stadium. So his words didn't pierce through to me as they might have if I lived there.

[xisxisxis]

I know what Fidel Castro did, he's a bad person.

 

No, he's a mass murderer.

 

However people are entitled to their opinion and if Ozzie likes/admires Castro then good for him.

 

Guillen can go to Red Square and give Joe Stalin's statue a big hug. He can go to Berlin and lay flowers at Hitler's bunker and give a testimonial to his great qualities. He can go to San Quintin and ask to kiss Charles Manson's feet. Yes as a person he can do whatever he wants, but as a PR representative of an organization he can be held by that organization to a code of conduct that says he can't do whatever he wants as long as he's an employee. If Guillen wants to preach the greatness of Castro, then he can resign and begin his motorcycle ride through little Havana. Until he does, his employer has every right to enforce a code of conduct that doesn't embarrass them.

[dlk9s]

I know what Fidel Castro did, he's a bad person. However people are entitled to their opinion and if Ozzie likes/admires Castro then good for him. I just find it silly to suspend him over it. I'm not saying that Ozzie was smart to publicly announce his love for Castro but I wouldn't suspend him either. I would just move on from it.

 

I have no connection to Cuba whatsoever so maybe it's hard for me to relate to what Ozzie said.

 

What if Joe Girardi said he admired Osama Bin Laden?

[adamb100]

I know what Fidel Castro did, he's a bad person. However people are entitled to their opinion and if Ozzie likes/admires Castro then good for him. I just find it silly to suspend him over it. I'm not saying that Ozzie was smart to publicly announce his love for Castro but I wouldn't suspend him either. I would just move on from it.

 

I have no connection to Cuba whatsoever so maybe it's hard for me to relate to what Ozzie said.

 

What if Joe Girardi said he admired Osama Bin Laden?

 

I would think he is crazy but I wouldn't look down on the Yankees as a whole because of one person's opinion.

 

BTW this is why I didn't want to state my opinion. It derailed the thread.

[Warning Track Power]

Adam:

 

Actually I think this is exactly the point of the thread to be honest; to debate the merits of whether or not a player or manager saying something inflammatory should warrant suspension by the team.

 

I think xisxisxis hit the nail on the head when it was said that each organization has a code of conduct which employees are expected to adhere to. Professing admiration for Castro, in Miami of all places, is simply dumb and ignorant to the plight of Cubans in that region. Had Ozzie been managing in say Seattle, this perhaps would have been overlooked as Ozzie being Ozzie. Being in Miami however has taken his comments to a whole other level.

[patrickgpe]

i think 5 games is sufficient. its about 3% of the season, which is about the same as suspending an NFL coach for a half.

 

I think I understand what he meant. I think he meant to do was compare about how he was always on the firing line in chicago and he admired how fidel stayed in power.

 

The problem is that while Ozzie was loosing games in Chicago, Fidel was killing his own people, so the comparison is moot.

[monty57]

I know what Fidel Castro did, he's a bad person.

 

No, he's a mass murderer.

 

However people are entitled to their opinion and if Ozzie likes/admires Castro then good for him.

 

Guillen can go to Red Square and give Joe Stalin's statue a big hug. He can go to Berlin and lay flowers at Hitler's bunker and give a testimonial to his great qualities. He can go to San Quintin and ask to kiss Charles Manson's feet. Yes as a person he can do whatever he wants, but as a PR representative of an organization he can be held by that organization to a code of conduct that says he can't do whatever he wants as long as he's an employee. If Guillen wants to preach the greatness of Castro, then he can resign and begin his motorcycle ride through little Havana. Until he does, his employer has every right to enforce a code of conduct that doesn't embarrass them.

 

Excellent post. The Marlins can't take away Guillen's right to free speech, but they can certainly take away his job if his free speech is giving the organization a black eye. Without this suspension (and possibly even with it), the Marlins would lose a lot of their fan-base before the foundation of their new stadium even settles. The suspension is a PR move trying to wipe the egg off their face and retain their fans. If the fans don't buy into it, Ozzie will be gone, and could have a hard time finding another job in the MLB.

[jjfanec]

Didnt John Rocker get suspended a month for his comment which were "free speech." A Wild hockey prospect got suspended 2 games for calling the Foo Fighters a homophobic slur on twitter.

 

There is definitely precedent for this and I think the organization with well within its rights to suspend. I was actually surprised it was only five games

[1992casey]

I really wonder what Guillen was asked for him to say what he did. It's hard to decide of the sanctions were appropriate without knowing the full context.

 

Rocker was suspended for whatever was left of spring training and for the first 28 games of the season. The spring training suspension was dropped, and the regular season suspension was reduced to 14 games.

 

When Rocker was asked if he'd play for the Yankees or Mets, this is what he said:

 

I'd retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the 7 Train to the ballpark looking like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing... The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?

[JimH5]

I remember Rocker being inflammatory. I forgot exactly what he said, but that quote is tremendous! No lack of clarity from him!

 

Marge Schott also faced MLB suspension for ignorant words. She was quite comfortable with the n-word and had racial hatred that extended beyond just language. And for the icing on the cake, she was sympathetic toward Adolf Hitler. She was fined and served a year's suspension.

 

We'll see how the Guillen situation plays out. Early reports are that he was contrite and seemed sincere. But South Florida gets to judge.

[Schlitz001]

I watched most of the press conference this morning and I truly believe that Ozzie didn't know what he was saying. It was an off the cuff statement that he obviously didn't think would matter anymore than his comments about gays or Hugo Chavez. Sometimes people say things when they don't understand the implications and that's what Ozzie was doing. He's done it in the past and I forgive him because I know he doesn't know what he speaks about.

 

If I were the Marlins I would have gone with a slightly longer suspension, but I think it's punishment enough that Ozzie will never be able to walk the streets of Miami without people referencing these comments.

[brettac1]

Oh, how I missed the wit and wisdom of John Rocker.

[3and2Fastball]

Baseball can teach one a lot of lessons about life: perseverance, teamwork, dedication, etc. After Ozzie Guillen was suspended for his comments about Fidel Castro, I was able today to explain to my 9 year old a little bit about who Castro is, what life is like in Cuba, and a little about how that effects the Latin-American culture in South Florida.

 

Should I have explained all of that to him prior to today? Yeah probably... but it was an interesting conversation on the walk home from school!

[endaround]

In what world would Ozzie think major league baseball turn a blind eye to him Castro comments?

 

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/castroangelos.jpg