Unbalanced logo

MLB shows bark, no bite with Gurriel suspension

MLB's suspension of Gurriel displays the MLB's inability to confront racism upfront

By John EdwardsPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
Like
Arturo Pardavila III/Flickr

I'm going to save you the trouble of every other take on the Gurriel suspension that you've already read, and skip over the general talking points. Yes, Gurriel has no excuse for that behavior and his actions, he played in Japan and he should know better, racism is bad, yadda yadda. You've heard it all ad infinitum before. Glad we can all agree that racism is bad. It's far more important to address the MLB's response to Gurriel's actions, because we'll all forget about Gurriel come next spring (hell, Houston fans have already forgotten), but the precedent of the MLB's ruling will linger on for years and possibly decades.

The MLB's suspension for Gurriel is nothing short of a joke. Gurriel is missing five regular season games and will lose approximately $322 thousand in salary from those games — and while that's enough to buy most people a house, Gurriel will be making $12 million next season even with the suspension and fines.

Nevermind that the first five games of the season mean practically nothing compared to one game of the World Series. I can understand the argument of not punishing the Astros in the World Series by banning one of their best players for even a single game, but five games are not equivalent to one game of the World Series.

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I miss the days of Bud Selig. When Braves RP John Rocker gave a racially charged interview to Sports Illustrated back in 1999 (highlights of which included calling a black teammate "a fat monkey"), Selig slapped Rocker with a 28 game suspension (which was later reduced to 14 games upon appeal). With Gurriel's racism on far more public display — during the World Series, the crown jewel of baseball — current commissioner Rob Manfred handed Gurriel a significantly lighter sentence.

Suspending Gurriel for the rest of the postseason poses a big risk to Manfred in that the players union can appeal the suspension and possibly get an injunction to freeze the postseason until the appeal gets through. Hence, suspending Gurriel in the regular season ensures that the postseason keeps rolling along without a hitch, without creating a very public scandal and delaying the World Series. And sure, this makes sense the last thing Manfred would want is something like this going down under him.

But five games? Five goddamn games? Yulieski Gurriel receives a five-game regular season suspension for mocking the race of a member of the opposing team during the most watched event of the baseball season? It's a joke. It goes completely against precedent. Giving Gurriel a longer suspension poses no threat to the World Series and it sends a stronger message that this behavior will not be tolerated. Instead, Gurriel escapes with a slap on the wrist.

Of course, this is nothing new from an organization that has, despite years of pressure, allowed the Cleveland Indians to retain their name for so long. It's sad and frustrating — MLB players have complained about poor racial attitudes from fans for years. If the MLB makes it clear that those attitudes are not to be tolerated, it sends a message to the fans, but strongly-worded-condemnations mean little without tangible action backing them up. The action taken by the MLB on Gurriel is not enough — simple as that.

baseball
Like

About the Creator

John Edwards

Staff Writer for The Unbalanced, Contributor at Sporting News.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.