In any other MLB city would this have been almost inconsequential. In Washington, maybe it puts the heat on President Obama over Cuba. In Philly they might boo for a few days, but hey, they are going to do that anyway. Maybe in Atlanta he is run out of town for professing love for an 86 year old man. But a suspension? Can Major League Baseball really let teams suspend players or managers who make comments that some of its citizens may disagree with? Will the Nats suspend a player who says he is against statehood?
Now the Marlins argument, that he represents their organization when he acts and speaks, is disingenuous at best, and a cheap ploy to bring in Cuban fans at its worst. You do not go get Ozzie to be your manager and expect him to be a role-model for your city and team. He skipped the White House for Hugo Chavez. He used an offensive slur while describing Jay Mariotti. There is no way the Marlins did not see this sort of thing coming. And to now cry foul, is both naive and hypocritical.
Fidel Castro is 86 years old. Yes, he once stood for the Cuban Missile Crisis and big red (Read: communism) right in our back yard. But his time as a villain has come and gone.
Were Ozzie's comments a mistake, probably. But a 5 game suspension for what amounts to sympathy is crazy. And while it is not against the law, it is contrary to how things should work in a free country.
What say you Natstown?
What say you Natstown?
Let's also remember what those Cubans in Miami are upset about...that dictator Castro kicked out THEIR dictator Batista. America's insane foreign policy regarding Cuba is absolutely held hostage by these humorless zealots. After all, we normalized relations with Vietnam a decade and a half ago. Enough is enough already. Bring on the Cuban cigars! :)
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