Ozzie Guillen Suspension: Castro Comments Should Not Surprise Miami Community

Miami Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen has a history of making out-of-bounds comments. The Miami community got what they paid for this week when he made comments about Fidel Castro.

In June 2006, he called Jay Mariotti "a (expletive) fag." He also frequently inserted expletives and rants during postgame press conferences. But 2010 was his most controversial year to date. Guillen made several comments about a wide range of things. He said immigrants are the hardest-working people in America and that Asian players are treated better than Latino players.

But Guillen opened Pandora's Box when he said "I love Fidel Castro" to a Time Magazine reporter. He later tried to backtrack and explain himself in the story.

"I respect Fidel Castro," Guillen said. "You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that (expletive) is still here."

These comments would be offensive in any Major League Baseball market. But as the coach of the Miami Marlins, a city with an enormous Cuban population, he set off a firestorm.

Hundreds of Miami residents stood outside of the new Marlins stadium, while reporters tried to cram into a room with a 100-person capacity. They carried signs. They carried flags. They carried their hearts and hurt feelings on their sleeves. 

Stop it. All of you overreacting fans, stop it. You knew this man would make inflammatory comments at some point. He just happened to speak about the wrong topic. Upset fans are the same ones that were on the Guillen bandwagon mere hours ago.

If the Marlins win the World Series this year, all will be forgotten. We live in a world of overreactions. The Miami community is currently in the midst of a gross overreaction.

Crucify Guillen if you like, but his comments have nothing to do with his managing ability. It is time to move on and realize that sometimes people speak without thinking. Guillen just happens to do it more frequently than most.