CORRECTION: The below article was published before it became clear that Ozzie Guillen was suspended by the Miami Marlins, not Major League Baseball.
It’s no secret that I really don’t like Ozzie Guillen. I think he’s a blow hard and a bad manager who does more harm than good to the teams he skippers. I also think that his comments about his respect for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro were distasteful, offensive, thoughtless, dumb, and what ever else you want to call them. However, he has every right to say them. We believe in free speech in this country and although we cringe at the hateful remarks we occasionally hear, we respect the speaker’s right to say them. Major League Baseball is out of line suspending Guillen for speaking his mind, no matter
how stupid he sounds and no matter how much it wants to give the appearance that it disagrees. Anti-Castro groups have the right to picket the Marlins ballpark, as they have said they will, and they have the right to call for his ouster, like they have, and the Marlins have the right to fire Guillen if they believe his his opinion hampers his ability to coach or is inconsistent with their organizational philosophy but Ozzie should be able to express whatever thoughts he wants without fear of official reproach.
-Max Frankel
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