by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES–The LA Clippers advanced to the next round after eliminating the Warriors in a very emotional series at Oakland and in Los Angeles. Unfortunately this very good seven game series, won by the Clippers, was overshadowed by the now famous recording of the owner of the LA Clippers making some racist remarks.
BREAKING NEWS: And this is not CNN. There still racism in America and it is also living inside of our pro sports.
As a Hispanic-American I have experienced racism in the past, and those like me will understand it more than those that have not been discriminated.
As a man that was born in Cuba, who loves this country, my country, served in the US Army during the Vietnam years, and have been a proud citizen of the United States of America, and have a successful career in my line of work, I know that racism comes in many forms. But, whichever form it comes it is never good.
I feel sorry for the ignorant people that are racist, and they can be white, black, brown, yellow. Racism/Bigotry is not “owned”by any particular race. As a matter of fact, I have always said that considering that in our country there are more different races than any other country in the world, we still get along very well. Main reason? We are a country of laws.
I never met the owner of the LA Clippers, and as a Christian, I do not make an opinion of somebody I do not know. If he is a racist, that is not enough of a “crime”to force him to sell his team. And I still do not know(I am not an attorney)how can they force somebody to sell his/her team, because of a racist remark, in a country that respects free enterprise and private ownership.
A couple of years ago, Ozzie Guillen was the manager of the Miami Marlins and he made a remark to a magazine, saying: ” I like Fidel Castro”. As a Cuban-American sports journalist-broadcaster, I was interviewed by the USA Today, on the Ozzie Guillen situation then. I said to the newspaper -quote- “I believe in free speech, that is one of the reasons I left a communist country, Cuba, to come and live here, and as much as I disagree with what Guillen said, he has the right to say what he wants, this is America”.
To say “I love Castro”in Miami, is something very stupid, but it is not a crime. That year Ozzie’s team also finished last, and Ozzie was fired. I always liked Ozzie, interviewed him many times, when he was a player, a very good shortstop, and also when he as a manager with Chicago and Miami.
To this day, Ozzie Guillen is the only Major League Baseball manager, born in Latinamerica that has won a World Series.
People in powerful positions say many things to many people, however, racism (in my opinion)is something that is in somebody’s heart, it is not something that you wake up one morning and all-of-a-sudden you are a bigot.
This case of the owner of the Clippers and the other people involved is becoming a circus, all-of-a-sudden, a team that not long ago was great material for late night comedians, because they were the epitome of a losing franchise(at least in the court, not necessarily in the business side)now there is a long line of people that want to buy the LA Clippers, from Oprah and Magic Johnson, to Oscar de la Hoya. Some of Los Angeles’ best soap opera’s have not been produced in Hollywood studios, but(like the OJ case)in real life courts of justice.
I am afraid this one is also heading there.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for Angels baseball and does News and Commentary each week for
Sports Radio Service 