J.C. Romero Rises Up For [Dumb] Puerto Ricans Everywhere

This proves that J.C. Romero's hyper-excitement on the mound is not something manufactured just for his relief appearances.

The Phillies God-lovin' set-up man is facing a 50 game suspension after he unknowingly ingested a banned substance that he purchased at a local nutrition store in Cherry Hill New Jersey. Romero claims he took the steps necessary to make sure his urine sample didn't set off the MLB Silkwood alarms and passed the supplement onto his trainer for closer inspection. All clear. But...there was something in his system that turned up hot and now he might lose $1.25 million unless the MLB reconsiders his suspension. And Romero isn't going away quietly. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Phil Sheridan caught up with the "anguished" reliever and just let him vent:

• "One thing I'm going to say, I'm a man and I'm accountable for my actions.If I'm guilty of something, you know what? I will face it. But I'm not guilty, and I'm not letting people that don't really know me judge me over something and accuse me of something that I didn't do."

• "For me to keep my mouth shut? That's not the right thing to do. If they want to bump me out of the game, so be it. What am I going to do, just sit back and take it? When I know in my heart I'm innocent? That doesn't fly well with me and it doesn't fly well in my house, either."

and finally

• "If people are intimidated because Major League [Baseball] is a big organization, so be it. But they are not going to make an example of me thinking that I'm just a [dumb] Puerto Rican. It's not going to happen. It's not the way I'm built."

Yeah, motherfuck him and John Wayne! And According to sources at the Inquirer, the quote was actually "dumb-ass" Puerto Rican. Which is just kind of awesome.

The T-shirts are ready.

Fight the power, J.C.

Phils' Romero Denies Wrong-Doing On Eve of Suspension [Philly.com]