RealGM

I thought this story should be huge right now but for some reason it's still kicking around the back pages.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/leonys-martin-lawsuit-details-allegations-of-cuban-baseball-player-smuggling-061730936.html

In August 2010, Leonys Martin and his family snuck to the shores of Cuba, hopped in a car, moved to a truck, got out and trudged on foot to a 45-foot yacht, sped across perilous waters to Mexico and took a 15-minute van ride to a house where they believed freedom awaited them. Instead, according to a lawsuit filed by Martin, they were introduced to two gun-toting men named Eliezer Lazo and Joel Martinez Hernandez.

"You are worth a lot," Lazo told Martin, according to the suit. "I am not going to let you go."

The Texas Rangers should be charged to taking part in an illegal subatance trafficing ring. They co-operated with Mexican Smugglers and got their hands on this new substance getting popular around the MLB.

The problem I have with any "outrage" about this in the first place (although it is a terrible thing for anyone to have to go through) is that what they are doing is illegal in the first place.

It's like if I go to rob a bank and then the people catch me and then kick my ass. I can;t really sue them, can I?

These ball players from Cuba are in a country that doesn't let them move freely, I get that. But submitting yourself to an illegal operation to emigrate to America sounds like a situation where it might get dicey for me, and as such, the expectation of bad things happening to me should be pretty high.

True, the world and baseball needs to know what happens and a more conciliatory process needs to be worked out--but as long as baseball keeeps "smuggling" these players out of their country, who do they think are going to run these organiztions...green peace?

I have no issue with people violating unjust laws. On the contrary, I encourage it.

youreachiteach wrote:The problem I have with any "outrage" about this in the first place (although it is a terrible thing for anyone to have to go through) is that what they are doing is illegal in the first place.

It's like if I go to rob a bank and then the people catch me and then kick my ass. I can;t really sue them, can I?

These ball players from Cuba are in a country that doesn't let them move freely, I get that. But submitting yourself to an illegal operation to emigrate to America sounds like a situation where it might get dicey for me, and as such, the expectation of bad things happening to me should be pretty high.

True, the world and baseball needs to know what happens and a more conciliatory process needs to be worked out--but as long as baseball keeeps "smuggling" these players out of their country, who do they think are going to run these organiztions...green peace?

I'm sure everyone in Cuba knows what could happen when you try to flee but it shouldn't stop him from trying to get back the 1.2M they took from him basically at gunpoint should it?

Martin has skills that should get him paid but he happens to be unlucky enough to be born in Cuba. So he tries to leave to make money for himself and his family but in the process these guys are stealing 35% of it. I definitely do feel for him.

And no, it's not at all like robbing a bank lol.