Suspension? Guillen case merits firing
Other than being larger-than-life, self-absorbed characters in charge of high-profile sports teams, Bobby Petrino and Ozzie Guillen had almost nothing in common before March turned into April and their foolishness, poor judgment and arrogance became the common denominator of their downfalls.
Petrino, thankfully, is gone, and Guillen should be, if only because it’s almost impossible to imagine him and his infamous “I love Fidel Castro” quote ever being able to co-exist with the vitally important and completely energized Cuban-american community in Miami that rightfully despises Castro.
It’s also almost impossible to imagine Guillen, the Miami Marlins manager, not saying something else that will get him in trouble in the next few months, if not the next few minutes. During his emotional news conference Tuesday at the new Marlins Park, which is located in Little Havana, of all places, Guillen answered questions in Spanish and English for more than an hour.
“I hurt a lot of people’s feelings,” he said. “Now I want to do it (apologize) because I (did) the wrong thing. It was a very stupid comment. When you (are) a sport man, you should not be involved in politics. I was very stupid with the comment; it is why I’m here. You learn from mistakes. This is the biggest mistake so far in my life. If I don’t learn from this mistake, then I will call myself dumb.”
But, as Miami Herald sports columnist Greg Cote reported, after saying he had learned his lesson about avoiding politics, Guillen gave this answer to a question asked by Venezuelan TV: “I’d rather be dead than vote for (Hugo) Chavez.”
The Marlins seem intent on keeping Guillen after suspending him for five games, but wouldn’t they be better off if they cut him loose now as a pre-emptive strike before someone asks Ozzie for his views on North Korea or Iran?
It’s in his DNA to say the most offensive things. In 2006, while managing the Chicago White Sox, Guillen used a homosexual slur to describe a Chicago columnist. He survived that one. He just might survive this one too, but he shouldn’t.
As the newly branded Marlins reinvent themselves in a ballpark purposely built in the middle of the baseball-loving Cuban community, they are being led by someone who will never be forgiven by a significant segment of the vast demographic the team is trying to attract. Plain and simple, the guy is damaged goods.
There will be those who think his apology should be accepted and everyone in Miami should move on. But things are not that simple. Anyone who has lived in Miami, as I did for 3½ years earlier in my career, has listened to the inspiring stories of Cuban Americans who escaped Castro’s repressive regime in 1959 and the 1960s on hastily arranged flights with a single suitcase — or, even worse, on a raft with food, water and the clothes on their backs.
I also have reported from Havana on five occasions, and each time I went back to Cuba, the squalor and decay were more heartbreaking than the time before.
The Venezuelan-born Guillen is aware of this. He didn’t just show up in South Florida when he joined the Marlins this season; he has lived in Miami for 12 years. He is also a public figure who has been interviewed hundreds of times and should know by now what and what not to say. In addition to telling Time magazine that he loves Castro, he also expressed admiration for the Cuban dictator’s staying power. How do those words possibly enter his head, then leave his mouth?
What Guillen said is not the same as what former Arkansas football coach Petrino did, lying to his boss about the motorcycle accident that ended up revealing an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member he recently hired.
But the result of both incidents should be the same. Arkansas did the right thing. The Marlins almost did.