The LA Dodgers' triple-A ball club just fired catcher Miguel Olivo for biting off teammate Alex Guerrero's ear last week in a dugout fight. Guerrero, who has undergone surgery to try to recover the ear, is expected to return, though there is no time table.
Dodgers president Stan Kasten provided info about Guerrero's situation. Before the incident, Guerrero was batting .376 and hit 6 home runs in 5 games (via LA Times):
"The surgical procedure was complicated because of how much of Guerrero's ear was bitten off. 'It was the whole upper part of the ear,' Kasten said. 'This is plastic surgery to reattach a portion of the ear and to regrow skin over it.'
"'I can tell you he feels awful, both about the incident and the fact he was doing so well,' Kasten said of Guerrero.
"Kasten said Olivo was 'distraught,' though he acknowledged he had not spoken to him.
"Of what Olivo did, Kasten said, 'It's unimaginable, inconceivable and, frankly, unforgivable.'"
While much was made in comparison to the infamous Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield bout in '97, Holyfield himself called Guerrero to offer moral support.
Holyfield remarked to the press that his own injury was less extensive and that he was able to resume training almost immediately whereas Guerrero could be out for as much as a month.
Olivo, for his part, was suspended immediately following the fight but now has been officially released from the team. Speculation that he will likely never play organized ball in America is probably right on although perversely he will probably stand to make money in commercials and/or reality television.
What do you think? Should Olivo be charged criminally or was the internal decision to dismiss him enough? Is it right that someone could commit an act and then profit from the notoriety?
Tell us your thoughts in the comment field below.
