Ozzie Guillen Has Ensured That He Will Have A Short Career As A Manager
Published June 25, 2006
In case you missed it, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called Chicago sports writer Jay Mariotti – a guy he obviously dislikes - “a fucking fag.” As a result of this outburst baseball commissioner Bud Selig fined Guillen and ordered him to take sensitivity classes, ostensibly so he can learn that you can’t walk around calling people “fucking fags.” At least not in public.
Guillen has a reputation as being a shoot-from-the-hip, I-don’t-give-a-shit-what-people-think kind of guy. He’s achieved that elite status where – when acting like an asshole – people explain the behavior with the phrase, “That’s just Ozzie being Ozzie.”
It’s really just a matter of “Ozzie being an asshole.”
Guillen is just a bully, as evidenced by how he’s responded to the uproar over his childish behavior. And don’t even give him the excuse that since he was a slightly-above average player, perhaps he doesn’t really know how to handle being in the spotlight as the manager of a high-profile team.
He says he called Mariotti a “fucking fag” not because he thinks Mariotti is a homosexual but because, Guillen says, “in his country” the phrase “fucking fag” doesn’t mean what it means in the United States. Oh, that’s completely different.
It would be interesting to hear how Guillen would respond to being called a “fucking spic” by an idiot from a different country, who might try to justify making this racist statement by saying that’s how things are done in that different country or culture.
We’ve all heard this excuse before.
The “hey in my country/culture we do it this way” attitude has been used to excuse slurs of all kinds, spousal abuse, and a bevy of other unlawful behaviors by people of all ethnicities. And this excuse is bullshit whether a person is in this - or any - country for 20 minutes or 20 years.
Ozzie Guillen is nothing more than a bully and a coward. He’s also a phony, wannabe tough guy. Guillen gets criticized by a sports writer and his skin is so thin that he responds by calling a guy names and by going out of his way to continue to insult the guy even when he’s “apologizing.”
Sal Marinello is a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer, a U.S.A. Weightlifting Certified Coach, a full-time, private Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach, an assistant football coach and a Head Strength Coach for a suburban New Jersey High School. He writes a lot and has no free time. 
- Ozzie Guillen Has Ensured That He Will Have A Short Career As A Manager
- Published: June 25, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Culture: Celebrity, Culture: Media, Sports: Baseball
- Writer: Sal Marinello
- Sal Marinello's BC Writer page
- Sal Marinello's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
You can break the law, their laws (steroids) and thats ok, but to speak ones mind is not! I don't know Jay Mariotti, I've seen him on some ESPN shows and feel he is a know nothing that thinks he knows everything! He lobbied strongly against the Cubs including Mark Prior in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles to get Miguel Tejadas!! Are you kidding me! But may I digress, Mr. Guillen doesn't like him and apparently let the world know his thoughts! Much like John Rockers views which upset me quite a bit, but these people apparently believe these things! My grandmother never believed we reached the moon and told thousands of people it was some scene in Arizona! She was allowed to believe what she wants, she had the right to say it as is John Rocker or Ozzie Guillen!
My issue with this all is the White Sox and MLB. Do they want people like Ozzie Guillen representing them! Blackball the guy, don't give him a forum and publicize the guy! Finally writers lowering themselves to his standards of calling him names shouldn't get a forum either! Ozzie can be Ozzie, but his employers must face the music for his actions!
Finally, disliking Jay Mariotti might be a good thing, watch him for about 30 seconds on TV and you will understand, regardless of his sexual preferences!
charles:
say hi to imus for me..
and boy you like that ! key don't you......!
I am ambivalent about this situation.
On the one hand, Ozzie Guillen is indeed an obnoxious, insensitive asshole. On the other hand, he does have the right to free speech as a naturalized American citizen, even if the media or the homosexual lobby don't like what he has to say (or shout, or scream...).
And also, Bud Selig pretty much sucks, all around.
So. Should decent people despise Ozzie Guillen? Yes.
Should Ozzie Guillen be forced to undergo PC brain-washing indoctrination via "sensitivity classes?" No.
Should Bud Selig just fucking go away? Definitely.
rj:
agreed on all three points, but the lure of using pictures of pussy galore and chico escuela while making fun of "ozzie the despisable" was just too strong.
My guess is, as soon as the White Sox start playing badly, Ozzie is out. Players, coaches, fans etc, will start complauing about his management style. His gruff manner works well when your winning, but I imagine it will go sour if the team goes through the inevitable bumpy period.
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/49654)
Let's just be glad Carlos Mencia isn't next in line to manage the team.