NewsMax.com. UPI. Tuesday, July 18, 2000
WASHINGTON – Missing no opportunity to snub Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., has called for a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into whether the Baltimore Orioles are discriminating against Cuban baseball players.
At issue is a recent statement by Orioles Vice President Syd Thrift in which he reportedly told the Washington Times that team management "felt it best not to do anything that could be interpreted as disrespectful or encouraging players to defect" from Cuba.
Under a provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, employers may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Justice Department and, at the behest of Rep. William Goodling, R-Pa., Major League Baseball are also investigating the allegations against the
Orioles, the American League's third-worst team.
"There has been impressive 'internationalization' of the major leagues, with nearly a quarter of current rosters consisting of players born outside the United States, including those from Cuba," said Goodling in a June 20 letter to MLB commissioner "Bud" Selig.
"It would be regrettable if a team were to impose a hiring policy discriminating on the basis of national origin. It would also be a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
Asked if Helms' involvement could politicize the case, Goodling spokesman Dan Lara said "the possibility exists."
"Sen. Helms has his own reasons for getting involved in the matter, and we welcome any contribution," Lara said.
"My interest, of course, is a sympathetic one for Cubans who manage to flee the repressive regime of Fidel Castro," Helms said in a letter to Ida Castro, chairman of the EEOC.
"I do not believe that they should have to endure discrimination when they come to the United States."
According to Helms, the Orioles' policy is motivated by a desire to maintain good relations with Castro. The Orioles played two games against the Cuban national team last year, one in Havana and the other in Baltimore.
Orioles spokesman Bill Stetka said Monday he "had not been informed" of the Justice Department's investigation. He would not comment.
Roughly two dozen Cuban baseball players have escaped to the United States.
"While what [the Orioles] are doing is contrary to the Civil Rights Act, the purpose of the Constitution is to prohibit the government from violating our rights," said Robert Levy, a senior fellow with the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington.
"The freedom of association would suggest that private parties ought to be able to associate [or disassociate] with anyone."
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