Cuban player still missing

Cuban player still missing
By Kevin Maimann, Edmonton Sun
First posted: Thursday, August 16, 2012 02:59 PM MDT | Updated:
Thursday, August 16, 2012 03:04 PM MDT

The governor of the Edmonton International Baseball Foundation said
little can be done about the Cuban team's missing player.

The team, in town for the 2012 Women's World Cup of Baseball, reported a
player missing Tuesday.

"We put every precaution and security on that we can," said Don Clarke.

"There's nothing that I see that we can do other than a chain-gang
making sure they're all chained together to get from one place to
another. There should be no reflection on Edmonton or Canada or anything
like that."

Three male Cuban players defected while in Edmonton during the
International Baseball Federation World Junior AA Championships in 2008.

Clarke has heard through the grapevine that the female player has
already made it safely south of the border.

"We are a free country. And if the girl decided to walk away, even if we
knew, what could we do about it? We can't hog-tie her," he said.

Police said earlier this week they are not calling the woman a missing
person because she came to Canada legally and appears to have left of
her own accord.

Clarke said the case should not impact the tournament, and hopes it
doesn't hurt the Cuban team.

"Baseball is still being played, and as a matter of fact, some pretty
good baseball. I just hope it doesn't hurt the morale of the Cuban
players," he said.

In August of 2008, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro slammed the Alberta
capital over the two baseball players who defected during the junior
tournament in the city. In a column on Cuba's daily Internet newspaper
Granma, Castro said the actions of pitcher Noel Argueilles and shortstop
Jose Antonio Iglesias, both 18 at the time, should be classified as a
"despicable betrayal."

"Edmonton has become a dumping ground," Castro wrote. "The Cuban
athletes were badly taken care of. That city has the privilege of
hosting that championship every year. We should analyze whether it is
worth attending that tournament."

Castro also insinuated Canada "stole" their athletes and blamed the rich
paycheques in the U.S. for luring them over.


Kevin.maimann@sunmedia.ca

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/08/16/cuban-player-still-missing