Students React to Marlins Manager’s Game Suspensions

Pro Castro comments have recently gotten Ozzie Guillen, current manager of the Miami Marlins and former major league baseball player, into trouble.

Guillen was quoted in Time magazine praising Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s ability to stay in power for as long as he has. Guillen’s, “I love Fidel Castro,” comments sparked controversy among the thousands of Cuban-Americans living in Miami who have been exiled from Cuba.

Despite numerous attempts by Guillen to apologize, a lot of Cuban Americans are outraged by his comments. Because of those comments, Guillen was suspended for five games. Although there are a lot of people who think this punishment was necessary, there are those who disagree.

“Who are we to tell him what he can say if he likes Fidel then that’s his opinion; that doesn’t mean that we have to change what we think about him,” said Michael Bean, senior.

“Yea we live in America, and we have the right to free speech; but that doesn’t mean that everything is appropriate to say,” said Eric Wamble, freshman.
Guillen has finished his five game suspension and rejoined his team.

“I think that the five game suspension was a fair punishment based on the amount of controversy that his comment caused,” said Devonti Rosebourgh, senior.

“The five game suspension was a good way to bring an end to the problem; hopefully, this can allow everyone to move on,” said Jordan Bolt, junior.

During Guillen’s absence, the Miami Marlins went 2-3; teammates even admitted to missing him while he was on suspension.

“The Marlins played better when Ozzie was not suspended; so, I know they’re happy to have him back,” said Jesse Bell, junior

“Even though he was only a manager, you could tell that his team played … [badly]in his absence,” said China Williams, junior.

Guillen’s mouth has gotten him into trouble before, in 2006, while managing the Chicago White Sox, he called Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti a homosexual. While he apologized for the comment, he did not stop his criticism of the columnist.

In a recent ESPN article, Guillen is quoted as saying, “I don’t think I will change but obviously talking about some issues that aren’t my business, you learn from that,” he said. “I learned a very tough lesson. Not just me, I think my family, people around me, the organization, players, and fans. You really learn from mistakes. I hope these mistakes make me a better person, make me realize how much I love this game and make me realize how much I love to be in Miami.”