Controversy
Sheffield has often put himself in controversial situations with his confrontational attitude, which sometimes leads to remarks construed as offensive.
Sheffield and his uncle, MLB player Dwight Gooden, were arrested after fighting with police and resisting arrest in Tampa, Florida.
He was verbal about his need for sufficient financial compensation and respect, demanding better pay when he was with the Dodgers, and refusing to play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, saying " season is when getting paid."
On April 14, 2005, a Red Sox fan leaned over the railing at Fenway Park and swiped at Sheffield as he was going to field a ball hit by Jason Varitek. After Sheffield took a swing at him with his glove, he threw the ball back into the infield, and then got into a verbal altercation with him. The fan, who was under the influence of alcohol, was ejected from Fenway Park and his 2005 season tickets were revoked. Sheffield was fined for the incident. Charges were dismissed against both the fan and Sheffield.
In the June 2007 issue of GQ magazine, Sheffield (a Detroit Tiger at the time) was quoted saying that there are more Latin baseball players than African-American players because Latinos are easier to control:
| “ | "What I said is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out. ... (It's about) being able to tell (Latin players) what to do — being able to control them," he told the magazine. "Where I’m from, you can’t control us." He went on to elaborate, "They have more to lose than we do. You can send them back across the island. You can’t send us back. We’re already here." | ” |
During an July 2007 interview with HBO's Real Sports, Sheffield said that Yankees manager Joe Torre treated black players differently than white players during his time there. He also said that he thought that biracial Yankees player Derek Jeter wasn't "all the way black."
On September 19, 2008, Sheffield was hit by a pitch from Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona (now Roberto Hernández) and walked to first base. When Hernández threw to first base, he and Sheffield exchanged words and Sheffield charged the mound, attempting to tackle Hernández but was caught in a headlock and punched a few times on the top of his head by the young pitcher. leading to a bench-clearing brawl. Hernández and Sheffield were both ejected, along with Indians catcher Víctor Martínez and Tigers second baseman Plácido Polanco. On September 22, the commissioner's office announced four suspensions resulting from the brawl: Carmona was suspended for six games, Sheffield received a four-game suspension, and Martinez and Indians infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera each received three-game suspensions. Sheffield made statements after the suspension that the involved players from the Indians would be "penalized" by him as well.
Read more about this topic: Gary Sheffield
Famous quotes containing the word controversy:
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)
“Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I’m not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own political nature to do it differently if I had it to do all over again.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)