In case you missed it, and I doubt you have, Ozzie Guillen got mad at Chicago Sun-Times columnist and ESPN personality Jay Mariotti. Guillen was upset with Mariotti for a column he wrote in which he criticized Guillen for his treatment of Sean Tracey. He had this to say about Jay:
“What a piece of shit he is. Fucking fag.”
You just can’t do that. Now, Ozzie issued the standard apology that only applies, evidently, “if someone was offended.” But he also explained that in his country, the same insult doesn’t mean the same thing. To him, it’s a shot at a man’s courage, and not his sexual preference.
I buy that… I believe that Ozzie wasn’t actually saying that Jay Mariotti is sleeping with Michael Strahan. But the problem is that his intent doesn’t matter… not even a little bit. When you call someone a ‘fag,’ given it’s standard meaning in this culture, what you’re doing is ascribing those negative qualities (unmanliness, lack of courage, whatever it may be) to homosexuals. Whether you intended to or not, you’re using homosexuality as an insult. You’re saying that to be gay is to be something undesirable.
That may not be true in Ozzie’s culture. But, you know, he didn’t say this in Venezuela. He said it here, and it absolutely is offensive, and it absolutely cannot be tolerated. He should be suspended. No question about it. Major League Baseball can’t tolerate this; they can’t say it’s okay. I’m not saying Ozzie’s a bad person, I believe that he didn’t want to hurt anyone (except Jay Mariotti), but again… intent is not relevant. What he said, and the affect it has on people is relevant. And I think he gets that, at least somewhat:
I’ve been here 20 years, but people have to know I grew up in a different country. To me, that’s not an excuse. I called the guy a bad name.”
I think that’s fair. But I agree, it is not an excuse… so a suspension is called-for.
Ozzie went on to say that he has gay friends, went to a Madonna concert, and plans to attend the Gay Games in Chicago. And, my personal favorite… he goes to WNBA games. I bet the WNBA people loved that… “Hey, come on, I love gay people, I even go see women play basketball!” We’ll probably be seeing WNBA commercials in the near future with a brand new slogan: “The WNBA. Because sitting through one of our games is proof that you’re gay-friendly.”
insomniac Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:47 am
If David Stern were running MLB, what do you think Guillen’s punishment would be? My guess is a minimum of a $100,000 fine…
GoKartMozart Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:35 am
As a Chicago sports fan, I can tell you that Jay Mariotti is the most pompous idiot possible. I’ve heard him called much worse. He may have used the wrong terminology but he was just saying what the rest of Chicago was thinking.
unc_samurai Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:45 am
What upsets me is that the climate of political correctness is distracting us from the real issue here; Jay Mariotti has been called out for the lousy, worthless person he is. The people getting upset at the use of the word “fag” are doing the rest of us a disservice.
Dave's Football Blog Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:26 am
The correct term for Jay Mariotti is “fucking bitch,” not “fucking fag.”
BTW, that picture makes this post next-level blogging. Seriously. Awesome work, MJD.
UC Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:33 am
The overreaction to everything Ozzie says or does is one of the most pathetic things in sports. Who cares?
Suspension? Nah. Tell him to ignore douchebag supreme Mariotti like everyone else does and move on.
BoSox Siobhan Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:13 am
Spot on, MJD. I think we can all agree that Mariotti is a Class-A douchebag, but I hope we can all additionally agree that the word “fag” does not belong in adult conversation.
Mr Furious Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:33 am
I don’t know anything about Mariotti, but I know Ozzie is a douche himself. “Fucking bitch” sounds about right for both of ‘em. And I am hardly a fan of the use of the term “bitch” either.
Ozzie deserves a hard slap from the Sox and MLB for this.
MasterShake Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:38 am
Come ON! MJD. For you to say that this is unexcusable because Ozzie is using the word “fag” in a way that makes it seem undesirable to be a homosexual is retarded*. For a straight male (presumably Mariotti is) to be thought of as homosexual IS undesirable (you know, I know it, I have nothing against anyone but different sects of society have different slang which are offensive to other sects but have their own specific meaning within said sect).
*The English langauge is constantly undergoing change and since “fags” are now properly called homosexual, queer, or gay, this should mean that the word fag is freed-up for other meanings since it is no longer how one refers to gay people. The word retarded falls in the same category since developmently and mentaly disabled are now proper. I should be able to call someone a ‘fag’ or a ‘retard’ wihtout having to worry about offending anyone since fags and retards no longer exist. There are now only homosexuals and mentally disabled people. MJD - you run an awesome site and I am here daily, but it’s always depressing when you leave the ranks of ‘average intelligent guy with common sense’ to swear allegiance to the MOTHER-FUCKING THOUGH POLICE.
Kyle Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:04 am
MasterShake: Ok, then black people are now referred to as Black or African-American (which is a term I don’t like when all persons of dark skin are called this whether or not they’re from America), so it’s OK for me to say n***** as a general term for anyone in a derogatory nature to mean less than human? I don’t think so. Gays, as a “group”, feel that this is an especially derogatory term and most people agree.
MJD: Spot on on the real issue. Mariotti was on Mike and Mike this morning and he said the exact same things and he was surpisingly non-Douchey and made sense. The issue is not Mariotti, as the Sox and Guillen are making it. It’s Ozzie’s use of the word fag. Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams have said via the Sox PR department that no punishment will be handed down by them. This is on Selig now, and he needs to lay it down hard.
Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, but there are consequences to certain things you say. Ozzie was on the clock, so to speak, so he’s gotta be held accountable just like anyone else in a corporate environment. If I were to be quoted as a representative of my company, saying something like that, I may get fired or at the very least go through a sensitivity training seminar. Sports is a different world, but in this case the same standards need to apply.
matthew Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:46 am
Once again, MJD provides a spot-on political analysis to sports commentary. It’s hard to find (and, as much as people love him, Scoop Jackson doesn’t always come across as too smart).
And MasterShake and others come across as the all-too-prevelant sports fan who just don’t ‘get it.’ It’s the same tired “*THEY* use nigger, why can’t *I*?!” argument. Or, sticking to MasterShake’s analysis, maybe “slave” would be better. Should a white man be able to call an African-American man a slave “wihtout [sic] having to worry about offending anyone since [slaves] no longer exist”?
the mighty mjd Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:59 am
MasterShake - I appreciate the compliment, but… again, your intent when you say those things does not matter. “Fags” and “retards” don’t exist? Come on. I understand that you might call me a faggot, and not mean it to slander gay people… but the fact remains that those words have negative connotations. They are insults, and to pretend like those words have lost all meaning… you have to know that isn’t true. Those words have been used throughout history to hurt a lot of people, and I’m sorry, but you can’t erase that. Just because the meaning is different to you doesn’t mean that it still can’t hurt people.
Mr. Bojangles Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Considering the White Sox have put about 93 runs on the Cardinals in the past two days, I think the fans may give Ozzie a pass on this one. BTW, is calling someone a cocksucker also considered anti-gay?
lopey Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 2:50 pm
women can be cocksuckers too.
and maybe he was just calling him a cigarette as the british do. he has a pretty fucked up understanding of the american language from what ive heard of him. wouldnt surprise me if he just fucked this one up too.
fredwilo Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:12 pm
What I liked most about Ozzie’s rant was the random references to try and show everyone he is not a homophobe. WNBA games? Madonna concerts? I could not stop laughing for 5 minutes….