Ozzie Guillen's press conference apology
Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is holding a press conference in Miami to apologize for his comments about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Here is his introductory statement, translated from Spanish on ESPN:
"I'm sorry that I hurt a city, a country. I hurt the community without any intention. But I did it. Not only Cuban Americans, but all the people outside the United States, Latin Americans, Venezuelans, people from Nicaragua, Panama and if I forgot somebody I would like to apologize."
"I feel like I betrayed my Latin community."
"I'm here to say I'm sorry with my heart in my hands. And I want to say I'm sorry to all those people that I hurt indirectly or directly."
"All I'm saying right now is from the bottom of my heart. I'm not here to get out of this. It's to clarify, and we will clarify. Especially to the Cuban-Americans in Miami. And what I was saying in Cincinnati and Philadelphia was actually the truth." [Note: He's discussing his apologies for the Castro comments]
"I'm embarrassed."
"I wanna be sure that our friendship has been betrayed [by me]. The last few days have been difficult for me and my family. It's been really hard for us."
"Again, I'd like to apologize again. I'm sorry for what I said and for putting people in a position they don't need to be."
"And for all the Cuban families, I'm sorry. My love. And I hope that when I get out of here people will understand who Ozzie Guillen is, how I feel for them and how I feel about the Fidel Castro dictatorship."
"I'm here to face you person-to-person. It's going to be a difficult time for me and I'm here to answer any questions you have. I'm here on my knees apologizing to all the Latin American communities."
"And the people that know me, they know exactly how I behave. I don't want this to heal, I just want to make it better. And I just want to say the truth."
Guillen then opened up the floor for questions.
The questioning was hard to follow, because there was a mix of English and Spanish and Guillen attempted to slow things down, saying that getting things lost in translation is how he got in trouble in the first place. He expressed that he's learning more and more about Castro now, including all the reasons the Cuban-Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with his comments.
Guillen also noted he's not going to be paid during the suspension, but that's not a big deal to him.
"Money to me right now is nothing. To fix my problem with the community is more important to me than money."
He continued to stress that he's embarrassed, very sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make the situation better. He also said the people protesting have every right to protest.
As for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Guillen said he would vote for any other competitor in an election.
Also, Guillen said that he did not feel pressure to resign his position, despite some cries for him to do so.
One final item of note: Guillen said he'd gone through three days without sleep.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
"I'm sorry that I hurt a city, a country. I hurt the community without any intention. But I did it. Not only Cuban Americans, but all the people outside the United States, Latin Americans, Venezuelans, people from Nicaragua, Panama and if I forgot somebody I would like to apologize."
| Guillen's Castro comments |
"I'm here to say I'm sorry with my heart in my hands. And I want to say I'm sorry to all those people that I hurt indirectly or directly."
"All I'm saying right now is from the bottom of my heart. I'm not here to get out of this. It's to clarify, and we will clarify. Especially to the Cuban-Americans in Miami. And what I was saying in Cincinnati and Philadelphia was actually the truth." [Note: He's discussing his apologies for the Castro comments]
"I'm embarrassed."
"I wanna be sure that our friendship has been betrayed [by me]. The last few days have been difficult for me and my family. It's been really hard for us."
"Again, I'd like to apologize again. I'm sorry for what I said and for putting people in a position they don't need to be."
"And for all the Cuban families, I'm sorry. My love. And I hope that when I get out of here people will understand who Ozzie Guillen is, how I feel for them and how I feel about the Fidel Castro dictatorship."
"I'm here to face you person-to-person. It's going to be a difficult time for me and I'm here to answer any questions you have. I'm here on my knees apologizing to all the Latin American communities."
"And the people that know me, they know exactly how I behave. I don't want this to heal, I just want to make it better. And I just want to say the truth."
Guillen then opened up the floor for questions.
The questioning was hard to follow, because there was a mix of English and Spanish and Guillen attempted to slow things down, saying that getting things lost in translation is how he got in trouble in the first place. He expressed that he's learning more and more about Castro now, including all the reasons the Cuban-Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with his comments.
Guillen also noted he's not going to be paid during the suspension, but that's not a big deal to him.
"Money to me right now is nothing. To fix my problem with the community is more important to me than money."
He continued to stress that he's embarrassed, very sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make the situation better. He also said the people protesting have every right to protest.
As for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Guillen said he would vote for any other competitor in an election.
Also, Guillen said that he did not feel pressure to resign his position, despite some cries for him to do so.
One final item of note: Guillen said he'd gone through three days without sleep.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
