"There are many Cuban baseball players in Cuba who would like to play in the Major Leagues. The problem is that we are not allowed to go back to Cuba then. Not everyone makes the decision to abandon his country, because they know that they won't be able to return. It's a very difficult decision."- Aroldis Chapman, Cuban star pitcher, who defected this past Thursday in Holland.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Cuban regime has a systemic policy of not allowing defectors to return to the island, even to visit their families, as punishment for fleeing. Additionally, their families in Cuba become social "pariahs," are removed from their jobs and are deprived access to rations and other basic staples. Chapman is the highest profile pitcher to defect since Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. As you may recall, Hernandez was once hailed as the finest pitcher in modern Cuban history, but was banned from baseball for life by the Cuban regime for plotting to defect in 1996. Instead of accepting his punishment, Hernandez fled the island in a a thirty-foot fishing boat.
As we celebrate July 4th, it's thematic to extend our best wishes to Aroldis Chapman, as we eagerly await the day in which all Cubans can enjoy the unalienable rights of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" in their homeland without fear of repression or repercussions.
