Robinson Cano spotted wearing Che Guevara t-shirt

[White Knight]

Now, I know this is 100% true, because the picture is taken from a friend's MySpace page (the one standing next to Cano is my friend's brother), who met Cano and other Yankees. Not sure when this was taken, but I'll find the exact date when I see my friend tomorrow. This is deeply disturbing that he would embrace a murderous Communist, and got no media coverage. Had he wore a Hitler shirt, it would have been all over th news. I've lost all respect I had for him. The picture speaks for itself:

[Silver Blaze]

For a second, I thought it was going to be that he was wearing a Cleveland Cavs t-shirt....

I wonder if he chose it just as a fashion statement and doesn't know the actualities of Che Guevara. Of course, in the wider picture one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.

[Los Bravos]

Like it or not, Che is perceived very differently in much of Latin America than he is by some here.

I don't want to get off on a political tangient, but...I don't think the Hitler analogy really holds. Absolutely no one who wasn't a committed white supremacist would wear a Hitler shirt.

There are, however, plenty of people who happily sport Confederate flags. Many people are offended by that, at least when it's done in a non-historical context, but others think of them as symbols of pride and use them for decoration. As Silver Blaze wrote, sometimes it's all a matter of perspective.

[MedicCook]

Maybe Cano is just a sequin kind of guy.

[hudsonharden]

If you're against those who are murderous, why are the Pirates and Vikings allowed to be sports mascots?

[Mattingly]

Is it possible that he simply liked the t-shirt without knowing who the person on it was? So many t-shirt stores in NYC, it's pretty crazy. If someone sees something, do they have to know the meaning behind it?

[White Knight]

Like it or not, Che is perceived very differently in much of Latin America than he is by some here.

I don't want to get off on a political tangient, but...I don't think the Hitler analogy really holds. Absolutely no one who wasn't a committed white supremacist would wear a Hitler shirt.

There are, however, plenty of people who happily sport Confederate flags. Many people are offended by that, at least when it's done in a non-historical context, but others think of them as symbols of pride and use them for decoration. As Silver Blaze wrote, sometimes it's all a matter of perspective.

Perhaps the comparisment doesn't hold, as Hitler was the top Nazi, and Che was just Fidel Castro's right-hand man. Nevertheless, he was a hard-line commie, there's no getting around that.

Likewise, the Confederate flag comparisment doesn't hold. There are plenty of people who wear it because of the "rebel" look. Only in the last 20 years has it been creating a firestorm, before that it didn't create much contraversy (see Dukes of Hazzard). There's no other way around Che, he was a Red. Why wear it unless you support at least most of his beliefs?

[White Knight]

If you're against those who are murderous, why are the Pirates and Vikings allowed to be sports mascots?

The same reason why you can dress up as Genghis Kahn or Satan at a Halloween party and not offend anyone, yet try dressing up as Hitler. Because if it's fresh in our memory, it's far less acceptable for some reason.

[White Knight]

Is it possible that he simply liked the t-shirt without knowing who the person on it was? So many t-shirt stores in NYC, it's pretty crazy. If someone sees something, do they have to know the meaning behind it?

I guess it is. But with Cano growing up in Latin America, wouldn't he have heard of Che?

[White Knight]

Here are some better Che shirts:

[BoofBonser26]

I guess it is. But with Cano growing up in Latin America, wouldn't he have heard of Che?

Yeah, but...

Like it or not, Che is perceived very differently in much of Latin America than he is by some here.

I don't want to get off on a political tangient, but...I don't think the Hitler analogy really holds. Absolutely no one who wasn't a committed white supremacist would wear a Hitler shirt.

There are, however, plenty of people who happily sport Confederate flags. Many people are offended by that, at least when it's done in a non-historical context, but others think of them as symbols of pride and use them for decoration. As Silver Blaze wrote, sometimes it's all a matter of perspective.

[Mattingly]

I guess it is. But with Cano growing up in Latin America, wouldn't he have heard of Che?

He's a 24-year-old ballplayer, not a history major.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara

Che passed on in 1967, about 15 years before Cano's birth. Che was born in Cuba and Cano in the Dominican. If you were talking about one of the Cuban players, that may be something different.

I'm sure I've seen that t-shirt before in NYC, but hadn't even known who the guy was. Cano should just get a Bob Dylan or Bob Marley t-shirt like everyone else in NYC.

[Mattingly]

Just a little note, that if this becomes a political thread, a few folks won't be too happy hearing from me in the morning.

[BoofBonser26]

Just a little note, that if this becomes a political thread, a few folks won't be too happy hearing from me in the morning.

It is morning, Mattingly.

[Mattingly]

It is morning, Mattingly.

On which planet? In New York City and its suburbs (the other meaningless 49 states), "morning" doesn't begin until the sun shines.

Now then, do you say "Good morning" when it's not even 3am ET? Of course not.

That said, get back to sleep!

[BoofBonser26]

On which planet? In New York City and its suburbs (the other meaningless 49 states), "morning" doesn't begin until the sun shines.

Now then, do you say "Good morning" when it's not even 3am ET? Of course not.

That said, get back to sleep!

Oh, I say good morning to everybody after midnight. It drives people crazy.

Actually, I am going to bed now.

Wait, baseball. Umm...Josh Barfield's OBP is really crappy!

[Mattingly]

Oh, I say good morning to everybody after midnight. It drives people crazy.

Actually, I am going to bed now.

Wait, baseball. Umm...Josh Barfield's OBP is really crappy!

I'm thinking of just moving this thread to BI. A thread here about a t-shirt can get pretty crazy.

I once corrected my supervisor when I'd said "Good morning" when he'd called around 1:00am. He'd corrected me, saying, "It's 'Good evening', my friend." I simply said, "It's after 12!"

Whatever, moving to BI.

[Dalkowski110]

I can see this thread going south pretty fast...

[SilentKiller]

I don't see what the big deal is about this. Speaking as someone descended from a Latin American country, to many people in Latin America Che Guevara and Fidel Castro are heroes because they had the guts to stand up to the United States, and not get pushed around like so many Latin American countries through the years. If he wants to wear a Guevara shirt let him wear it, that's none of our business.

[Silver Blaze]

Is it possible that he simply liked the t-shirt without knowing who the person on it was? So many t-shirt stores in NYC, it's pretty crazy. If someone sees something, do they have to know the meaning behind it?

That's a tough one, but I would like to say the answer should be yes. If you wear something as a fashion statement, without knowing at least the rudimentary facts of what that thing is, you are being superficial. Wearing something, like it or not, is endorsing it.

To keep on baseball, there's many folks out there who wear Yankees gear, and I bet they can't name a single player besides Jeter, and they probably don't go to games. I'm not trying to lay down some strict framework of what someone needs to know in order to wear a t-shirt, but a level or two above oblivious would be nice.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

It would be kind of disappointing if Cano didn't know what Che represents but still wore the shirt. And it doesn't bother me one bit, since everyone is allowed to have their own opinion. Yes, even communists.

All that being said, it's just a T-Shirt.

[TonyStarks]

Now, I know this is 100% true, because the picture is taken from a friend's MySpace page (the one standing next to Cano is my friend's brother), who met Cano and other Yankees. Not sure when this was taken, but I'll find the exact date when I see my friend tomorrow. This is deeply disturbing that he would embrace a murderous Communist, and got no media coverage. Had he wore a Hitler shirt, it would have been all over th news. I've lost all respect I had for him. The picture speaks for itself:

Dude lighten up. It's a T Shirt and nowadays Che shirts are a big fashion item. I don't think that by wearing the shirt Cano is supporting Communists.
The shirt probably matched his sneakers.

Re: Che..one man's terrorist is another's Freedom Fighter. And to say Che' was "Red" is to simply it too easily. It's more than that. Cuba turned into something Che' didn't expect or see at the time, but then again this is a baseball forum so I'm not going to get too deep into the political rant.

[Mattingly]

That's a tough one, but I would like to say the answer should be yes. If you wear something as a fashion statement, without knowing at least the rudimentary facts of what that thing is, you are being superficial. Wearing something, like it or not, is endorsing it.

To keep on baseball, there's many folks out there who wear Yankees gear, and I bet they can't name a single player besides Jeter, and they probably don't go to games. I'm not trying to lay down some strict framework of what someone needs to know in order to wear a t-shirt, but a level or two above oblivious would be nice.

Well, actually, it goes well beyond the Yankees, since there are Mets, and even Red Sox caps and gear being worn in NYC and also in NJ. I've known a few Met fans who came out of the woodwork sporting their gear in September 2006, but didn't even once discuss Mike Piazza. Can you believe that? No Bud Harrelson, no Tom Seaver, no Mookie Wilson, no Jon Matlack, no Jerry Koosman, Duffy Dyer, etc. There are tons of fans who don't know the history of their teams.

At least I'll say one thing about the Yanks, in that when you go to Yankee Stadium, it's not unusual to find an authentic Billy Martin #1 jersey worn proudly, and lots of retired and deceased players' jerseys and t-shirts are readily sold nearby.

As to t-shirts, unless it's someone more obvious, if it hadn't been mentioned to me, I'd have seen the shirt and figured it looked nice. I'm sure I've seen it around here (NYC/NJ) more often than just once.

I think that if someone is expected to know the history behind everything they wore, then you're asking for going online to do research before you make a purchase. There are lots of people wearing Bob Marley jerseys. Some when he's singing, others when he's smoking weed. Everyone has different interests.

For myself, if the picture looks pretty, I may buy the t-shirt. I have no idea how I'm supposed to know who the person in everything I buy would be. It could've been a model who'd posed and that's about it. Does it look good? Does it feel good? To me, that's about it.

As mentioned upthread, he's a young guy and Che passed on in 1967--*FORTY* years ago. It wouldn't surprise me if Cano wasn't fully aware of who Che was, since he's Dominican, not Cuban. Considering he was named after Jackie Robinson, I'd say he was born with decency in his favor.

[Elvis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCEr8nubPl4

[NewEnglandAmazins]

Che seems to be popular in soccer matches.
Japan's J-League:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2gdS7awp48
check out the flag about 30 seconds into video.