BASEBALL PLAYER DEFECTS AS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATES TEAM FOR IMMIGRATION LAW VIOLATIONS The Department of Justice has opened an investigation of the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball team. At issue is whether the team discriminates against Cuban players in its hiring practices. Last spring Syd Thrift, the team’s vice-president of baseball operations was reported as having said that the team had a policy against hiring Cuban defectors. Then in May Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote a letter in which he asked the Justice Department to investigate the teams hiring practices.
On July 6, The Justice Department told Helms that the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices had begun an investigation into whether the teams hiring practices violate laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a person’s citizenship status. The Department is also investigating the possibility of discrimination on the basis of national origin.
Thrift’s comments came a few months after a two-game exhibition series between the Orioles and the Cuban national team. At the time he said the team did not want to disrupt the goodwill created by the game by engaging in activities that could be seen as encouraging Cuban players to defect.
In related news, Cuban baseball star Andy Morales has defected to the US. He entered early this week and spent two days in detention as INS officials questioned him about the smugglers how brought him here. This was Morales’ second attempt to come to the US; his first, earlier this year, was thwarted when he was apprehended at sea and returned to Cuba. On his way to INS processing his agent, Gus Dominguez, took calls from three major league teams. The agent would not identify the teams, but it is safe to assume the Orioles were not one of them. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
