First-year Miami Marlins’ manager Ozzie Guillen is known for his antics as a character on the baseball field and in the media. His off-color comments have landed him in trouble many times before, but he went too far when he said he “loves Fidel Castro” and respects him.
In an interview with Time Magazine he made comments that might, unfortunately, define his career in Miami. Not only was what Ozzie said in poor taste because of how we, as Americans, perceive Castro, but it also was offensive to the many Cuban-Americans who make up his team’s fan base.
I’m from Tampa, Fla., and know many Cuban-Americans back home and in Miami. Many Cuban-Americans see Castro as a man of pure evil and he is widely hated in Miami. A lot of Cuban-Americans are the children and grandchildren of those who fled to America to escape Castro’s dictatorship in Cuba. For Guillen to say he “loves” a polarizing figure is one thing. The fact that he said that about a man many Americans consider to be an enemy and the man who is most hated by the people of the region in which he coaches shows Guillen really doesn’t think before he speaks.
To add on, Guillen came into the season on a mildly hot seat due to the Chicago White Sox firing him; the Sox were simply fed up with his mouth. Guillen went from skating on thin ice to burning a fire on a piece of ice in the middle of the ocean. I don’t think Guillen deserves to be fired for this, and I hope he won’t be, but this might be the straw before the last one. One more slip-up and his talents might be removed from South Beach.
