Helms calls for probe of Baltimore Orioles hiring practices

By Dana Bash and Brian Todd/CNN

May 26, 2000
Web posted at: 10:04 a.m. EDT (1404 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) on Thursday formally asked Attorney General Janet Reno to initiate an "immediate review" of the hiring practices of the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team.

The Orioles played the Cuban national team last spring, both in Havana and Baltimore, in what Major League Baseball hailed as a diplomatic and gamesmanship success. The two teams split the series.

In a letter Reno, Senator Helms wrote: "Last week, members of the Baltimore Orioles management team stated that they have a policy -- based upon an agreement with Fidel Castro's regime -- that the Orioles will not sign players who defect from Cuba."

Earlier this spring, Orioles owner Peter Angelos said he would not sign players who defect from Cuba. However, he later amended that statement, saying the club would not formally rule out signing Cuban defectors, but also would not actively pursue them.

Helms responded, "Orioles owner Peter Angelos has since attempted to rewrite history, perhaps upon the advice of his legal advisers, saying that the statements reflect more of a 'concept' rather than an actual policy of not hiring defected Cuban players. Their attempts to clarify were far from convincing and did nothing reassuring that, in practice, Cuban baseball players enjoy the same opportunity to play for the Orioles as any other player.

"At the very least, Madame Attorney General, the implementation of such a hiring policy by the Baltimore Orioles would be inconsistent with the spirit of the Refugee Act and international agreements on refugees to which the U.S. is a party.

"It would also appear to be illegal. Is the implementation of such a hiring prohibition, in fact, a violation of U.S. laws prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices in general, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964?"

Helms also asks whether such an action might be a violation of provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, protecting legal aliens from discriminatory hiring practices.

Helms concludes: "In this regard, I ask that you initiate an immediate review of the hiring practices of the Orioles through the Office of the Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices and all other appropriate channels to determine whether or not they are, in fact, implementing a policy of not hiring Cuban defectors."

Helms asks Reno to report the results of her investigation to the Foreign Relations Committee, and signs off: "Cubans who seek refuge in the United States -- even if they happen to be baseball players -- deserve the full measure of protection provided by U.S. law."

CNN attempted to contact the Baltimore Orioles for comment, but no Orioles official was immediately available to respond.