Miami Marlins once made it clear that there's no room for Ozzie Guillen's pro-Fidel Castro comments
In September 2011, the Miami Marlins announced that Ozzie Guillen would be joining the team as a manager by the start of 2012.
The move at the beginning was met with a lot of enthusiasm from the franchise and the fans. However, the excitement soon turned to panic when Guillen drenched himself in controversy in April 2012.
Guillen, who is originally from Venezuela, praised Fidel Castro in an interview with Time Magazine. Fidel Castro was a dictator in Cuba from 1959 to 2008. As the word dictator suggests, people don't usually associate him with being fair and just.
Considering that many Cuban refugees live in Florida after being driven out of their home country because of Castro's regime, the statement hurt a lot of Floridians. This is what caused the Miami Marlins franchise to release a statement which read:
"There is nothing to respect about Fidel Castro. He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today."
Ozzie Guillen with the 2005 World Series trophy https://t.co/6jMDb0eFIc
Ozzie Guillen was terminated from his contract due to his comments. His contract was of 4 years, which meant that he still had 3 years remaining.
When the former Manager of Miami Marlins praised a dictator, putting the team in hot waters
Words that ended up cutting Ozzie Guillen's career as a manager for the Miami Marlins short will forever be remembered.
He had said the following about the dictator, Fidel Castro, to get himself in hot waters:
"I love Fidel Castro … 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) is still there."
However, after learning how insensitive his statements were and how they might affect his position with the Miami Marlins, Guillen released the following statement:
"I will apologize if I hurt somebody's feelings, or I hurt somebody's thought. I want them to know I'm against everything 100 percent — I repeat it again — the way this man (been) treating people for the last 60 years"
He added:
"The reason I say I admire him is because a lot of people want to get rid of this guy and they couldn't yet. That was personal, not politics. If you don't read the article, it sounds ugly. The first time I read it I was like, 'Wow, that's going to get me in trouble.' I understand that. I'm not hiding from anybody, especially people in Miami."
Ozzie Guillen and Rod Carew at the 1991 MLB all star game https://t.co/WVr67QbcXK
Unfortunately, the apology wasn't enough for the Miami Marlins, and he was let go. Guillen is currently Team France's bench coach for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.