I Mean What I Meant I Didn't Mean I Meant

Trey Smith

Howard Cosell once said famously that sports and politics don’t mix. Yet the more you stare at the world of sports it becomes obvious that it’s not “sports and politics” that don’t mix, but sports and a certain kind of politics. If an athlete wants to “support the troops,” rally behind a new publicly funded stadium, or in the case of Tim Tebow, do commercials for rightwing evangelical hate-shop like Focus on the Family, then you are a role model. Anyone who dares step out of that box would bear a very different set of consequences. This was seen sharply with the case of Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen. In an interview with Time Magazine, Guillen said in the freewheeling, macho style that has become his trademark, “I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive]." Guillen was immediately suspended for five games for his comments.

Given that Guillen manages in Miami and given that the team just opened a new $2 billion taxpayer funded stadium, the comments elicited an all-too-predictable firestorm.

To be clear, I have no problem with what Guillen said. Castro’s ability to survive since Eisenhower was President of the United States is remarkable.

I also have no problem with South Florida’s very well connected, rightwing Cuban community, flexing their muscle in an effort to denounce Guillen. Free speech doesn’t mean freedom from criticism.

I do have a tremendous problem with the Miami Marlins franchise suspending Guillen for five games without pay.

I do have a problem with Guillen becoming yet another person from the world of sports who gets fined, loses money, and has his job threatened for daring to have something political to say.
~ from Ozzie Guillen and Free Speech by Dave Zirin ~

This situation reminds me of another one. Rashad Mendenhall, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team, tweeted a comment about how upset he was by the celebratory antics of Americans upon learning that Osama bin Laden had been summarily executed by US Special Forces.

"For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart? "There is not an ignorant bone in my body. I just encourage you to #think"

Needless to say, Mendenhall was roundly condemned from the left and the right. He offered an opinion that was not considered to be "acceptable" to the mainstream.

As Zirin points out, most people love it when professional athletes offer their support or criticize what they are supposed to. As long as they toe the line, we rally around them. Oh, but if they cross that proverbial line, then we loudly tell them to shut up because there is no way in the world they can know what they are talking about!

Do I think Fidel Castro is a wonderful guy? Probably not. But I also don't think he's the monster our ruling elite has made him out to be. He's done a lot of great things for the common people of Cuba.