The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

Mike’d Up: Ozzie’s latest remarks and the wheel of scandals keeps rolling

Miked+Up%3A+Ozzies+latest+remarks+and+the+wheel+of+scandals+keeps+rolling

By Michael Kelley ’14 & Mick Kowaleski ’14

Ozzie being Ozzie or Ozzie gone too far?

Kelley: Ozzie Guillen has never been afraid to say what he thinks, whether it was in Chicago or now in Miami as the manager of the Marlins. Last week, Guillen told Time that he admires and respects Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for staying in power so long. After the comments, Guillen was suspended for five games.

Despite apologizing with “his heart in his hands” and explaining his comments, the Cuban American community remains offended. Will Guillen ever learn to think before he speaks?

In 2006, he was fined after using a gay slur aimed at a Chicago-area newspaper columnist, adding to his list of offended people. Some may categorize these remarks as Ozzie being Ozzie but as the manager of a professional team, it casts a dark cloud on the rest of the organization. There is now a huge crisis for the Marlins and for Guillen himself. People are calling for him to be fired.

Guillen was brought in to turn the Marlins around. The club spent $200 million on free agents and just moved into a new stadium. Now, they need to win over fans to become a must see attraction and this is going to be a huge hit to that goal.

 

Kowaleski: For those who know me well, they know that one of my biggest pet peeves is overblown political correctness. I think this may be yet another example of this.

Everybody is getting on Guillen for expressing admiration for Castro. What people seem to be missing, however, is that he is not supporting Castro’s actions in Cuba. He actually condemns Castro, calling him a “bull—- dictator” that has “everybody” against him in a October 2008 issue of Men’s Journal. Just to be safe, he clarified: “I don’t admire his philosophy.”

I mean, come on, he isn’t supporting Castro’s treatment of the Cuban people. He’s basically saying that he’s impressed that Castro has maintained control of Cuba for so long. It is impressive, especially since America’s been directly antagonizing him since the start of his rule. I’ll admit that. It doesn’t mean that Guillen or I support Castro in any way, shape, or form. You can respect an individual and condemn them at the same time. People don’t seem to get that, and Ozzie’s statement is blown out of proportion.

 

Bobby Petrino: Latest in a Long Year of Coaching Scandals

Kowaleski:  Wow, it’s really been a long year for sporting leaders, hasn’t it?

Start off in March of 2011, when Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel resigned after 10 seasons following the tattoo-parlor scandal. Fast-forward to November, when monstrous child molestation accusations hit former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and Syracuse basketball assistant Bernie Fine. The scandals spread to Orange patriarch Jim Boeheim and Penn State legend Joe Paterno, who was subsequently fired following the reveal of a cover-up.

Now we have Bobby Petrino, Arkansas football head coach, who carried on an illicit affair with an employee half his age, who he most likely unfairly assisted in attaining her position. This story broke after he crashed his motorcycle with her as a passenger. He has been fired for lying to the school.

So what’s the deal with all of these scandals? Is this a new trend, or is the exposure of the coaches merely a result of authority figures cracking down on these coaches? I tend to lean towards the latter school of thought. I don’t think for a second that any of these coaches are the first or the only individuals to be carrying on these shady activities. I believe that this is just an example of a caffeinated media, hungry for stories 24/7, prompting the NCAA to crack down on their coaches. With the media never sleeping in an internet-driven society, leagues have to be constantly on the alert so they aren’t dragged down with the coaches.

 

Kelley: Great point. Leagues have to keep up with the corruption in order to avoid being caught in a storm of negative media attention when the story breaks.

However, I believe much of it lies within the win at all costs and defend the program till death mentality. Negative public attention hurts a program’s recruiting, which in turn affects the win loss column.

It’s truly sad to see how much corruption and scandal lies in the NCAA these days. These are not just any other programs, either. Ohio State, Syracuse, Arkansas and Penn State are famous institutions competing for titles each year.

Hopefully these scandals send a message to other institutions and coaches that this behavior is no longer tolerated in the path to a purer NCAA.

 

Disagree with one of our opinions? Write a letter to the Mike’d UP guys ([email protected]) with your opinion and a reason behind it.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

If you wish for your response to an article to be submitted as a letter to the editor, please email [email protected].
All Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *