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Guillen: Mariotti a "(bleeping) fag"

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by 85bears, Jun 21, 2006.

  1. 85bears

    85bears Member

  2. trounced

    trounced Active Member

    Yes, MLB's handling of similar situations suggests he should be suspended. Do I love that he said it about Mariotti? Absolutely.
     
  3. flaming_mo

    flaming_mo Guest

    I agree 100 percent.

    Baseball has set a precedent of policing the speech of its players, managers and owners. I'm not sure why Ozzie is immune from that.

    I also think the Ozzie lovefest is a little tiresome. His team is winning, so everyone is happy. But if things take a turn for the worse, I wonder if that clubhouse will disintegrate. This is baseball. A manager can't show up his players and then expect to have their respect.
     
  4. Rhody31

    Rhody31 Well-Known Member

    I don't think so. In the context of what he said, he was challenging Mariotti, not insulting him based on his sexuality.Like Guillen said, in Venezuela, the word is different.He wasn't trying to be hurtful to gays; he was insulting Mariotti.
    Plus, this is no where near what Rocker said. Rocker went off on everyone, and in the context he used, you knew exactly what he meant. THere was no hiiding it.
     
  5. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    good column. people toss around that word too easily. growing up, i did, too. then i went to an extremely liberal college and the word fell out of my vocabulary. in the years after college, i still never used it but i heard plenty of people use it in a joking way.

    that said, i find it hard to believe guillen's excuse that the word is a compliment in venezuela. if that's true - and i wouldn't take ozzie's word for it - then i'd fine him instead of suspend him because he gets the benefit of the doubt and a warning with the fine not to use it again. if it's bullshit - and even if he goes to wnba games, likes madonna and is going to the gay games and honestly doesnt' have a problem with gays - then he should be suspended for a game or two.
     
  6. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    If I were Ozzie, I'd apologize to gays for putting Mariotti in with them...
     
  7. Lion_Woods

    Lion_Woods Active Member

    I agree with Rhody to an extent. Guillen should be supsended by the league because what he said was an offensive term. But also I still think the slur at times can have a different meaning. It still doesn't make it right to use it.
     
  8. flaming_mo

    flaming_mo Guest

    Totally disagree. I don't believe Rocker even used a slur to refer to gay people, although I believe he did mention AIDS.

    The punishment for John Rocker was totally disproportionate to the actual crime. If Rocker hadn't been a boob and a redneck, his comments would be accepted as wry and irreverent observations on life in New York.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I just kind of question whether this is news...

    I was at a practice recently and myself and a bunch of other writers and TV guys were talking about American Idol. The coach overheard it and said, "Are you guys talking about that show? You're a bunch of homos..."

    He said it jokingly and about 20 people heard him say it... Was it ever in the paper? Of course not...

    By no means am I defending Guillen. It was a stupid and ignorant thing to say. It just makes me a bit uncomfortable that a coach calling a reporter a name, which happens all the time is newsworthy...
     
  10. Crap.
    Guillen knows what it means. Hiding behind ethnic nuance is cowardly. (And does anybody really believe that "fag" in this context means something different in Venezuela? In a country where "maricon" can get you beaten pretty badly?) If you;re having problems with a columnist, and the first club out of the bag is "fag," when that's the worst thing you can think of to call him, you're John Rocker and your ass is out for a week.
    When Al Nipper once got enraged at Steve Fainaru, the worst thing he could think of at the time was to call Fainaru a "Jew." Same thing.
     
  11. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Ozzie called him a cigarette, huh?
     
  12. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    It's not like Guillen moved to the U.S. three days ago. He's been in America long enough to know fag is not a good term to throw around, regardless of what it means in Venezuela. That's a crap excuse. Take ownership of what you said and take your punishment. And yes, if Rocker was suspended, then Guillen should be as well.
     
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