Seriously...it's time for Mr. Machismo to open up a big can of shut the flip up. Yeah, yeah..I know...you love him because he's so animated. Because he's not like the other coaches. Personally, I'd like to see Mark Cuban and Ozzie team up. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2494491 Guillen calls columnist Mariotti homosexual slurESPN.com news services On Tuesday to reporters, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen referred to Chicago Sun-Times columnist and Around the Horn contributor Jay Mariotti as a derogatory name for a homosexual. Angry with a recent column by Mariotti critical of Guillen's handling of recently demoted relief pitcher Sean Tracey and upset with Mariotti with columns of the past, Guillen said to reporters when referring to Mariotti before Tuesday's game with the Cardinals, "What a piece of [expletive] he is, [expletive] ***." "I don't have anything against those people. In my country, you call someone something like that and it is not the same as it is in this country." Ozzie Guillen Mariotti was covering the NBA Finals Tuesday night and was not present to hear what Guillen said. Columnist Greg Couch of the Sun-Times wrote a column Wednesday in response, calling for commissioner Bud Selig to suspend Guillen for his use of a "hurtful homophobic" term. Before writing the column, Couch asked Guillen for an explanation. Guillen defended his use of the term "***" by saying this about homosexuals and the use of the word in question: "I don't have anything against those people. In my country, you call someone something like that and it is not the same as it is in this country.'' Guillen said that in his native Venezuela, that word is not a reference to a person's sexuality, but to his courage. He said he was saying that Mariotti is "not man enough to meet me and talk about [things before writing].'' Guillen also told Couch that he has gay friends, attends WNBA games, went to a Madonna concert and plans to go to the Gay Games in Chicago. "I called that of this man [Mariotti],'' he told Couch. "I'm not trying to hurt anybody [else]." Scott Reifert, the White Sox's vice president of communications, offered to apologize on behalf of the organization when approached by Couch. "To anybody who was insulted or hurt by that comment ... as an organization, we'll certainly apologize," Reifert told Couch.
i agree with Ozzie. he's honest with his answers and i believe he didn't mean it to insult gays. he could have just have called him an *******, same difference.
society has just become overly sensitive to everything. this is a non-issue that will become much more than it is.
no..because other assholes wouldn't be offended. what if he had used a racial slur to describe mariotti? same difference.
I'm going with guillen everytime over mariotti. the guy is prick. I'll never forget when he had a radio show on the The Sporting News Network he said Texas fired Tom Penders because he wasn't a good ole boy. That he didn't fit in because he was from the East coast. edit: he could have chosen a better term. but I'm not gonna be mad for his machismo
someone's always offended by something. doesnt' make what he said right or wrong, but i don't think Guillen's intentions were what the reporter said they were.
This incident does not change my opinion of Guillen one iota. The crap he pulled with Sean Tracy last week did it for me. The man has a serious integrity & character deficiency. His quotability/personality and his early success (he should thank Ken Williams daily for the teams he assembled) will buy him some time & slack...for awhile. Unless he changes some things (*if he can*, or even wants to), he'll be out of a job in the forseeable future.
i don't know what his intentions were. i know he should stop yapping. the guy is always calling someone out. don't hide behind, "in my culture this is ok." that's crap.
I can't believe no one mentioned this - had me in tears. Guillen supports gay people because he attends WNBA games.... truly CLASSIC.
I saw that but I thought the Madonna comment was funnier for some reason. He went to a Madonna concert...yep, HE'S A GAY ADVOCATE. I also liked the "gay friends" comment. Isn't that what everyone says when accused of being homophobic?
I called someone here that same derogatory statement. I was banned for 4 months.... Bah. I still think the word is funny, though.
Yeah... But if you call a heterosexual the same term, are you a racist? I would have to differ on that.
