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Selig supports Guillen suspension, forgets once rubbing elbows with Castro

Kalyn McMackin Contributor
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Ozzie Gullen’s expression of love for Fidel Castro was roundly condemned throughout the MLB last week, but at least one of the Marlin manager’s biggest critics has his own history with the Cuban dictator.

While trying to appease much of the frustration and outrage felt by much of the Cuban-American portion of the team’s fan base, Guillen was suspended by his own team, not the Major League Baseball Association.

Shortly after Guillen’s suspension, MLB comissioner Bud Selig released a statement in support of the Marlin’s action to suspend Guillen.

“Major League Baseball supports today’s decision by the Marlins to suspend Ozzie Guillen,” wrote Selig. “As I have often said, Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities. All of our 30 Clubs play significant roles within their local communities, and I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game’s many cultures deserve. Mr. Guillen’s remarks, which were offensive to an important part of the Miami community and others throughout the world, have no place in our game.”

Perhaps it slipped Selig’s mind that he and Orioles owner Peter Angelos once nudged elbows with Castro at an exhibition game that Baltimore played in Cuba in1999.

Seeing as he chose to publicly attend an event with Castro in what President Kennedy famously referred to as an “imprisoned island,” Selig’s scolding of Guillen’s remarks aren’t worth much now.

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