Ozzie vs. Mariotti: Guillen apologetic, defiant
Ozzie vs. Mariotti: Guillen apologetic, defiant
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
June 22, 2006
BY JOE COWLEY Staff Reporter
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen apologized for his choice of words during a tirade Tuesday directed at Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti.
But Guillen insisted Wednesday that the ongoing war of words between the two is now ''personal,'' and he has no intention of backing down.
Guillen drew national attention by calling Mariotti ''a piece of s---'' and a f------ fag.''
The third-year manager then explained after Tuesday's game to Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch that in Venezuela, the term "fag'' has to do with courage and that he meant Mariotti was ''not man enough to meet me and talk about [things before writing].''
On Wednesday, Guillen said he never should have used that word, no matter what the term meant in his culture.
''If I hurt anybody with what I called him, I apologize, but I wasn't talking about those people,'' Guillen said. ''I was talking strictly about [Mariotti].''
The Sox have no plans to punish Guillen for what he said, and according to one source, Major League Baseball is unlikely to suspend him.
''We understand that some of our fans were upset and offended by Ozzie's comments,'' said Scott Reifert, the Sox' vice president of communications. ''Like Ozzie, we do apologize to those fans. We certainly hope our fans understand that the White Sox care about their opinions, and we also hope they know our organization wants everyone to feel welcome at the ballpark.''
Guillen doesn't feel he deserves punishment.
''They can do whatever they want, but I'm not going to back [down],'' he said. ''I will apologize to the people I offended because I should have used another word. Besides that, I'm still waiting for Jay.''
Guillen also wanted to clear up the idea that he was angry at a Mariotti column last week that criticized the manager's handling of rookie reliever Sean Tracey.
According to Guillen, his problem is that Mariotti never has come to the clubhouse to speak to Guillen, but ''he steals quotes from all the writers and makes money, and he's not accountable.''
"Jay's a piece of s---,'' Guillen said Wednesday. ''If he wants to know, he should be talking to me here right now. If he were a man, he'd be here with you guys right now.
''Why he's so afraid to show up to the ballpark? When you're afraid to do something, you feel guilty about something, then tell him we'll pay his cab. Tell him to tell us where he lives, and we'll bring him to the ballpark and we'll have a conversation. But that's the way he is. He's garbage, still garbage, going to die as garbage. Period.''
While Guillen didn't necessarily agree with Couch's column on the incident, he stressed that Couch at least interviewed him.
''I shook his hand,'' Guillen said. "I told him I didn't mean to say [that term]. He said he was going to write it down. At least he showed up and talked to us.''
Guillen also pointed out that Mariotti has called him offensive names in his columns several times.
''He called me a gang member, a Mafia guy,'' Guillen said of a Mariotti column that ran April 23, 2005. "When you say Mafia man here, that's not easy to say. Now he's sitting on national TV talking about me. I make him famous and make him more money.''
jcowley@suntimes.com
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
June 22, 2006
BY JOE COWLEY Staff Reporter
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen apologized for his choice of words during a tirade Tuesday directed at Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti.
But Guillen insisted Wednesday that the ongoing war of words between the two is now ''personal,'' and he has no intention of backing down.
Guillen drew national attention by calling Mariotti ''a piece of s---'' and a f------ fag.''
The third-year manager then explained after Tuesday's game to Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch that in Venezuela, the term "fag'' has to do with courage and that he meant Mariotti was ''not man enough to meet me and talk about [things before writing].''
On Wednesday, Guillen said he never should have used that word, no matter what the term meant in his culture.
''If I hurt anybody with what I called him, I apologize, but I wasn't talking about those people,'' Guillen said. ''I was talking strictly about [Mariotti].''
The Sox have no plans to punish Guillen for what he said, and according to one source, Major League Baseball is unlikely to suspend him.
''We understand that some of our fans were upset and offended by Ozzie's comments,'' said Scott Reifert, the Sox' vice president of communications. ''Like Ozzie, we do apologize to those fans. We certainly hope our fans understand that the White Sox care about their opinions, and we also hope they know our organization wants everyone to feel welcome at the ballpark.''
Guillen doesn't feel he deserves punishment.
''They can do whatever they want, but I'm not going to back [down],'' he said. ''I will apologize to the people I offended because I should have used another word. Besides that, I'm still waiting for Jay.''
Guillen also wanted to clear up the idea that he was angry at a Mariotti column last week that criticized the manager's handling of rookie reliever Sean Tracey.
According to Guillen, his problem is that Mariotti never has come to the clubhouse to speak to Guillen, but ''he steals quotes from all the writers and makes money, and he's not accountable.''
"Jay's a piece of s---,'' Guillen said Wednesday. ''If he wants to know, he should be talking to me here right now. If he were a man, he'd be here with you guys right now.
''Why he's so afraid to show up to the ballpark? When you're afraid to do something, you feel guilty about something, then tell him we'll pay his cab. Tell him to tell us where he lives, and we'll bring him to the ballpark and we'll have a conversation. But that's the way he is. He's garbage, still garbage, going to die as garbage. Period.''
While Guillen didn't necessarily agree with Couch's column on the incident, he stressed that Couch at least interviewed him.
''I shook his hand,'' Guillen said. "I told him I didn't mean to say [that term]. He said he was going to write it down. At least he showed up and talked to us.''
Guillen also pointed out that Mariotti has called him offensive names in his columns several times.
''He called me a gang member, a Mafia guy,'' Guillen said of a Mariotti column that ran April 23, 2005. "When you say Mafia man here, that's not easy to say. Now he's sitting on national TV talking about me. I make him famous and make him more money.''
jcowley@suntimes.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 2:12 PM
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