Shef at it again...

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

Article

Some people...

[WAR-MATT 2]

Has anyone seen his latest racist comment? What an a--hole.

Smash

Sheffield swings and misses with his words

By Mike Lopresti, Gannett News Service

Foolish is foolish. Hurtful is hurtful. Racist is racist. Should the offender's batting average make a difference? Or his race? Or the fact it's on page 227 of GQ? No.

So where is the outrage over Gary Sheffield?

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Sheffield had some news to release in the current edition of GQ. He has decided on the reason for the flood of Latin baseball players into the major leagues. It's because they're more ... manageable.

Not like African-Americans. They're too independent, apparently. If it's a close call on the roster, black players are sent home and the jobs given to men from Venezuela or the Dominican Republic because of "being able to tell (Latin players) what to do — being able to control them."

So sayeth Sheffield, noted sociologist.

"I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys." Take that, Albert Pujols.

Now batting third for the Tigers ... Don Imus.

Wait. That's not quite right. Sheffield spewed out no demeaning names. And maybe young women from Rutgers make much more sympathetic victims than pitchers from Cuba.

But if there is a line for all, Sheffield, an African-American, just crossed it. An entire race of athletes was reduced to a stereotype. The enormous growth of Latin players in the majors was given an asterisk. Note: These guys are in the lineup because they can be more easily handled by the manager.

Which begs the question to Sheffield of where in his theory of controllable Latinos is there room for Manny Ramirez? But we digress.

Sheffield is famously outspoken, and there is nothing wrong with that.

There is plenty wrong with this.

In Sheffield's world, apparently, Latin players have become much more common in the majors in recent years because of a psychological component. They're simpler folk to deal with. It's not because so many have been working on their game since infancy in the fields of Caracas and San Pedro de Macoris.

One wonders the reaction if an athlete speculated for print that black players have become much more common in the NBA because of a physiological component. They just jump higher. Not because so many have been working on their game since infancy on the playgrounds of New York and Los Angeles.

Some egghead tried to explain African-American dominance in the track sprints a few years ago by suggesting an actual physical difference in body by race, and he was nearly hooted into seclusion. The outcry was that such an idea cheapened the work and dedication and achievement of so many outstanding black track athletes.

Fair enough. But is Sheffield's theory any less objectionable?

This is the danger of trying to explain an issue with race. Seldom is the answer to anything as simple as black or white. The steady drop of African-American participation in baseball is real and alarming, and there is a laundry list of reasons why it's happening. Probably most of the suspected causes have some merit.

But here's a prominent player generalizing about race and ethnicity. Sheffield is 38 years old and has been around the block when it comes to talking to the media. He should have known better.

Should there be a strong response to his comments? Would there be if, say, Detroit manager Jim Leyland made them?

No word from Sheffield by the way, on whether the growing trend of Asian players reflects Japanese being easier to control. Maybe next month's issue.

[abrnfanatc 6]

Thanks Gary for proving that it's only racist when a white man says it...