Should Ozzie Guillen be fired for praising Fidel Castro?

The Miami Marlins manager is slapped with a five-game suspension for saying, "I love Fidel Castro." Outraged fans argue the punishment isn't nearly enough

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was handed a five-game suspension on Tuesday, after outraging Florida's Cuban community by telling TIME magazine that he loves Fidel Castro.
(Image credit: Cliff Welch/Icon SMI/Corbis)

Outspoken baseball legend Ozzie Guillen, hired this winter to lead the rebranded Miami Marlins into a bright new future, was served a five-game suspension Tuesday after he praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in a magazine interview. "I love Fidel Castro," the Marlins manager told TIME. "You know why? A lot of people wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years but that motherfucker is still here." Though Guillen has apologized for his remarks, angry fans and local politicians, particularly those in Miami's vibrant Cuban community, are calling for his firing. Should Guillen lose his job?

Yes. Send him packing: Guillen apologized, and a five-game suspension may be the bureaucratically-correct thing to do, says Teresa Puente at Chicago Now. "But he will never be forgiven by the Cuban community in Miami." Considering all they have suffered at the hand of Castro, no amount of repentance will be enough to win back their loyalty, or "undo the political damage he has caused and the economic impact it will have on the team." If the Marlins want to move on, they must tell Ozzie, "Adios."

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