Jun 21, 2006 8:03 PM EST

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen referred to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti as a derogatory name for a homosexual in a media scrum on Tuesday.

Guillen was upset with a recent Mariotti column critical of his treatment of relief pitcher Sean Tracey.

Guillen said to reporters when referring to Mariotti before Tuesday's game with the Cardinals, "What a piece of [expletive] he is, [expletive] f*g."

Guillen was defensive when asked about the statement and said that in his native Venezuela, that word is not a reference to a person's sexuality.

Via ESPN.com