By Brad Lendon, CNN
(CNN) – The Miami Marlins have suspended Manager Ozzie Guillen for five games, effective immediately, the team said Tuesday.
Guillen sparked a firestorm when he told Time magazine recently that he respected Fidel Castro for being able to lead Cuba for six decades.
“I respect Fidel Castro,” Guillen said in the article. “You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that son of a bitch is still there.”
The manager said he has apologized to Cuban-Americans in the Marlins organization, including Spanish-language broadcasters Felo Ramirez and Yiki Quintana, as well as Cuban-born Phillies pitcher Jose Contreras, ESPN reported.
The Marlins released a statement saying there was nothing to respect about Castro, “a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today.”
Guillen backtracked on the remark on Sunday and apologized to anyone he offended with the Castro remark, telling the Palm Beach Post that he is “against everything, 100%,” regarding Castro’s reign in Cuba.
Elaborating on his use of the term, “respect,” he said, “I respect (President) Obama, I respect (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chavez because I always respect people.”
Perhaps lost in the controversy were Guillen’s remarks late last week that for a quarter century or more he has gotten drunk and gone to sleep after every game.
“I’ve got my routine. Game’s over, stay in the lobby of the hotel, the hotel bar, get drunk and go to sleep,” he told the Palm Beach Post.
“I get drunk because I’m happy because we won or get drunk because I’m very sad and disturbed because we lose. Same routine for 25, 28 years. It hasn’t changed. I don’t like to go out.”
Guillen was named the Marlins manager on September 28. He previously managed the Chicago White Sox for eight years, including leading them to the 2005 World Series title.
He is a native of Venezuela and became a U.S. citizen in 2006.
