NP: California Dreamin - R.E.M. cover version
I rarely blog about sports, but I want to share what has to be the lamest excuse ever given in a sports controversy.
Ozzie Guillen, the fire-tounged manager of the CHicago White Sox, called out Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti (you know...the guy next to Woody Paige on Around the Horn) and referred to him as a "fag." It was a bit more colorful than that, but the term "fag" stuck out as homophobic and drew the criticism.
So, the Sun-Times immediately jumped on it and ran with it. Mariotti, since he is the star of the paper, was in Miami at the NBA Finals. Another columnist ran a story about how terrible it was to use that term in public discourse, prompting a defense from Guillen.
This takes the "I have friends who are ___________" defense to a whole other level.
His defense, according to ESPN.com, "Guillen also told Couch that he has gay friends, attends WNBA games, went to a Madonna concert and plans to go to the Gay Games in Chicago."
Oh my where to start. Apparently the WNBA has now become a source of homosexual pride somewhere and men watch women's basketball in order to support homosexual rights. Across Tennessee, thousands of Lady Vols fans just jumped out of their armchairs and said "nuh-huh."
Seriously, he attends WNBA games??? What the hell? Since he is a Chicago sports celebrity, he probably gets free tickets, but that is beside the point. He also plans to go to the "Gay Games" in Chicago. I'm not sure which direction to take that comment, so I'll drop back and say "Insert your Own Joke Here."
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Worst Defense Ever
2 comments:
A post so nice you published it twice? (I deleted the duplicate.)
Unfortunately, I missed "Around the Horn" today while I was at the driving range, which certainly had Mariotti responding to the comments, but I caught various comments about Guillen's comments on "Pardon the Interruption" and SportsCenter.
As I'm sure you readers are well aware, I've never been one to shy away from epithets or insensitive comments, but I do have the sense to know what not to say for public consumption. I'm also not an employee of a Major League Baseball club, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, I agree that Guillen's excuse is dumber than the statement he was defending. Sure, the WNBA sucks, but what does the WNBA have to do with The Gay Agenda? (I'm not sure that part wasn't a subtle dig at the WNBA on Guillen's part, calling the WNBA a bunch of lesbians.) And I don't know where to go with the "Gay Games" comment, either.
But I think the dumbest aspect of this controversy is reflected in the results of ESPN.com's SportsNation poll. Here are four of the ten questions: (* - my answers)
1) Should Ozzie Guillen be suspended for using a homophobic slur in reference to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti?
53.7% No
46.3% Yes*
2) Is Guillen's excuse that the word has a different connotation, dealing with courage instead of sexuality, in Venezuela valid?
66.7% No*
33.3% Yes
3) Do you believe anyone else in the White Sox organization would be suspended or fired for saying the same thing in public?
61.9% Yes*
38.1% No
4) Would Guillen be suspended if he had used an ethnic or religious slur?
76.1% Yes*
23.9% No
Of the 47,500 people who had taken this as of 10:30 PM, most agree that he had no excuse for what he said, anyone else in the organization would probably be fired or suspended for the same comment, and if he used a ethnic or religious slur he would be suspended, but less than half think Guillen should be suspended for his comment.
That is a fucking absurd disconnect. If you're able to understand that his comments are indefensible and that anyone else in the organization would be punished for the same comments, how can you justify not suspending him? And I don't have the fucking time or the energy to bother with the respect given to ethnic background or religious beliefs over sexual orientation, in the sense that one should be respected over the other when it comes to giving offense. Coincidentally, Guillen has already made ethnically insensitive comments toward Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra over their participation in the World Baseball Classic.
All that aside, Guillen should be suspended. Not on principle, but because his comments have gotten dumber and more spiteful and without some sort of punishment, they'll probably become even moreso.
The way I took that, and I voted that he should not be suspended, is that there are other punishments that are more fitting. The way the question is phrased, I think, skews the answers toward the negative.
Players and managers are usually fined for their comments. I think I fine would be more appropriate than a suspension. Also, if his punishment was to attend 5 WNBA games, I would say that would teach him a more valuable lesson.
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