Torii Hunter: Black Hispanics are "Impostors"

[knightni]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/base...writethru.0699/

 

Whoops!

 

 

Ozzie has some comments, of course.

[Melissa1334]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/base...writethru.0699/

 

Whoops!

 

 

Ozzie has some comments, of course.

hunter always makes mention of that, every year. it is what it is i guess. they just like basketball and football more and ozzie made some good points, about how hispanics get a lot of money too (chapman, viciedo, etc)

[chw42]

Although that's very politically incorrect, he is somewhat right on this issue.

 

[knightni]

PI doesn't fly with MLB.

 

Expect community service of some sort for Hunter in the Caribbean next winter.

 

 

[lostfan]

Well it was a pretty stupid way of putting it, but yeah, he's right, black Latinos and black Americans are 2 different cultures and blacks here tend to not want to play baseball - at least for kids growing up in the 90s and earlier this decade, anyway.

Edited March 10, 2010 by lostfan

[chw42]

PI doesn't fly with MLB.

 

Expect community service of some sort for Hunter in the Caribbean next winter.

 

Yeah, but he is right though, there is a difference between black baseball player and black Hispanic baseball players.

 

I think Dusty Baker made a point of this by saying that Hispanics need to play in warm weather, lol.

[knightni]

Well it was a pretty stupid way of putting it, but yeah, he's right, black Latinos and black Americans are 2 different cultures.

There are many stupid ways of putting things; but, Hunter has been getting away with his comments for years with no public backlash, until now.

 

Imagine if someone like Ozzie or Quentin had said that just once in reverse (black hispanics aren't real hispanics). They would have been burned at the stake of public opinion in 2 seconds flat and would have had to have given a public apology.

 

 

 

/'buster'd

[lostfan]

There are many stupid ways of putting things; but, Hunter has been getting away with his comments for years with no public backlash, until now.

 

Imagine if someone like Ozzie or Quentin had said that just once in reverse (black hispanics aren't real hispanics). They would have been burned at the stake of public opinion in 2 seconds flat and would have had to given a public apology.

 

 

 

/'buster'd

Yeah, can't really disagree with that. Wasn't it Hunter who complained that white players wore #42 on April 15th and said it cheapens it?

[knightni]

I think that we're getting to an era where anyone can be called out for unpopular statements no matter who they are and what ethnicity they come from.

 

 

 

[southsider2k5]

I think that we're getting to an era where anyone can be called out for unpopular statements no matter who they are and what ethnicity they come from.

 

I guess that means we are moving towards equality

[knightni]

I guess that means we are moving towards equality

To quote the great T of Ice:

 

"Freedom of speech - just watch what you say."

[The Ginger Kid]

Yeah, can't really disagree with that. Wasn't it Hunter who complained that white players wore #42 on April 15th and said it cheapens it?

did he really?

 

what an ass

[lostfan]

did he really?

 

what an ass

Yeah I'm not actually sure it was Hunter, but he (or whoever said it) said something to the effect that all the white players jumping on the bandwagon diminishes the meaning of the black players doing it. I tried to re-type it in a way that didn't sound dumb, but I can't because the statement was, well, dumb.

[SoxAce]

Well it was a pretty stupid way of putting it, but yeah, he's right, black Latinos and black Americans are 2 different cultures and blacks here tend to not want to play baseball - at least for kids growing up in the 90s and earlier this decade, anyway.

 

He is right, even Ozzie agreed with him.

 

BTW, here is the quote you were looking for.. it was mostly the Astros not having ANY black players which I never knew they didn't that year.

 

In 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. asked permission to wear No. 42 on the annual Jackie Robinson Day. Commissioner Bud Selig loved the idea and invited other players to join in. On some clubs, one player wore No. 42. On other clubs, several players did. On still others, every player did.

 

This is what Los Angeles Angels outfield Torii Hunter said, to USA Today: "This is supposed to be an honor, and just a handful of guys wearing the number. Now you've got entire teams doing it. I think we're killing the meaning. It should be special wearing Jackie's number, not just because it looks cool."

 

What upset Hunter, he says now, was this: The Houston Astros had no black players on their team last April, and yet the entire team wore No. 42. Said Hunter: "That got it away from, 'OK, we don't have any blacks,' " he said. To Hunter, a roster with no black players did not represent the progress for which Robinson stood, and baseball celebrated according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Edited March 11, 2010 by SoxAce

[bigruss]

I thought I remember some outcry from the mandatory wearing of "42" which cheapens it, maybe Im mistaken.

[nitetrain8601]

Torii is pretty dumb for this and I like him less. First about the whole white team wearing #42 for Jackie Robinson. That's more a celebration of a breaking down of barriers. They're celebrating equality for all colors. What Torii said then sounds like "Yeah, only good black players should be wearing that number. White players shouldn't. I don't support white people supporting a black historical moment." And yes, it's pretty much that simple.

 

Now as far as the Latino's not being black. What color are they? You're telling me Alexei Ramirez isn't black? He's toastier than you are Mr. Hunter. David Ortiz is black. What makes a player Latino and what makes a player black? Is he saying black people can only be from certain places like Jamaica, Africa and America because they act different? Torrii is a very short-sighted person.

Edited March 11, 2010 by nitetrain8601

[bschmaranz]

This whole thing reminds me of that old SNL clip where the "educated black guy" tells Garrett Morris that light skinned blacks are smarter then dark skinned blacks.

 

Edited March 11, 2010 by bschmaranz

[lostfan]

Torii is pretty dumb for this and I like him less. First about the whole white team wearing #42 for Jackie Robinson. That's more a celebration of a breaking down of barriers. They're celebrating equality for all colors. What Torii said then sounds like "Yeah, only good black players should be wearing that number. White players shouldn't. I don't support white people supporting a black historical moment." And yes, it's pretty much that simple.

 

Now as far as the Latino's not being black. What color are they? You're telling me Alexei Ramirez isn't black? He's toastier than you are Mr. Hunter. David Ortiz is black. What makes a player Latino and what makes a player black? Is he saying black people can only be from certain places like Jamaica, Africa and America because they act different? Torrii is a very short-sighted person.

He was clumsy as hell in how he said it but it's true, they are the same color and probably descended from near the same place, but an Afro-Cuban or black Dominican is totally different culturally than a black person that grew up in the United States. Juan Uribe might look like he grew up in Englewood, but he wouldn't identify with them at all.

[nitetrain8601]

He was clumsy as hell in how he said it but it's true, they are the same color and probably descended from near the same place, but an Afro-Cuban or black Dominican is totally different culturally than a black person that grew up in the United States. Juan Uribe might look like he grew up in Englewood, but he wouldn't identify with them at all.

 

Possibly, but he shouldn't have called Latinos imposter blacks. That's a huge mistake. It would've been better if he stated, they're trying to market and generalize the african americans with latinos when we're all our own players with our own history. Instead, he talks about how Latinos are imposters, how even though they're black, they're really not black.

 

Last but not least, there is no such thing as a black person that I have met. Everyone's a shade of brown.

 

[SoxAce]

Last but not least, there is no such thing as a black person that I have met. Everyone's a shade of brown.

 

Then you don't get out much...

 

Torii on what he said was stupid, especially how he actually worded it, but as lost said... he's 100% right on this one. Funny thing is, lost is black and I'm half black and we agree on this..

Edited March 12, 2010 by SoxAce

[bmags]

you mean all blacks don't act and believe the same things? Well then, how am I supposed to generalize about them?

[SleepyWhiteSox]

For all those saying he's right, can you explain what he's right about and how?? I'm confused...

 

1. I don't perceive MLB as trying to market black Latinos as African-Americans.

2. I'm not following with this conspiracy to shun black South Side ballplayers in favor of Latinos because they're cheaper.

[Quin]

you mean all blacks don't act and believe the same things? Well then, how am I supposed to generalize about them?

 

Greatest. Post. Ever. (in this thread)

[lostfan]

Then you don't get out much...

 

Torii on what he said was stupid, especially how he actually worded it, but as lost said... he's 100% right on this one. Funny thing is, lost is black and I'm half black and we agree on this..

I'm actually a half-breed too

[Hawkfan]

I have to agree with torii on this one. The day is much more important for blacks than it is hispanics, or any other races.