Last November it was reported that the Marlins planned to build a memorial for Jose Fernandez, likely including a statue. The effort was said to be a pet project of the Marlins owner, Jeff Loria, who was close with Fernandez.
Today the Miami Herald reports, however, that those plans are in limbo due to the sale of the team:
There’s nothing in the report suggesting that they’re opposed to the statue -- it’s possible this was placed in the Herald by people close to the new group in order to test the waters -- but there always was the sense that the idea was something of a priority for Loria personally. One wonders how much momentum it will have once he’s gone.
Then, of course, there’s the fact that Fernandez was eventually found to have been under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and was behind the wheel of the boat at the time of the accident that claimed his life and the life of two others, making any memorial to him suspect in the eyes of some people.
Thankfully we don’t spend a lot of time and energy discussing the ethics of statues in this country, so I’m sure it’ll have no bearing on the matter.
