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'Sick and disgusted' Aaron hammers Rocker for comments in SI
Posted: Friday December 24, 1999 12:20 AM
CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Hank Aaron thought the racism and discrimination he endured during his career was a thing of the past, but baseball's all-time home run king is reconsidering after the latest comments from Atlanta pitcher John Rocker. "I played for 23 years and had everything under the sun happen to me, like most black players," Aaron said Thursday on the Jay Mariotti Show on One-on-One Sports Radio. "But never has anything happened to me that made me feel like I did reading that in Sports Illustrated. "When I first read that, I was sick, absolutely sick. I thought we had passed the stage where things like that were no longer tolerated." Aaron, now an executive in the Braves front office, was referring to Rocker's comments in an article in this week's issue of the magazine. Although employed by the Braves, Aaron has had little interaction with Rocker and even less insight into the mind of the man at the center of the controversy. "I've never held a conversation with him that long," Aaron said. "I don't know him and I don't think I missed anything." In the article, the volatile Atlanta closer again blasted New York, criticizing the city for everything from its pace to its ethnic diversity. "It's the most hectic, nerve-wracking city," Rocker said in the article. "Imagine having to take the [No.] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing." As for the ethnic makeup, Rocker was just as caustic. "I'm not a very big fan of foreigners," he said. "You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get into this country?" Aaron said fans need to realize that Rocker is not speaking on behalf of the Braves or the team's parent company, Time Warner. "I hope that people realize he represents himself," Aaron said. "This ballclub goes deeper -- the Time Warner situation. The ballclub is a cable company. It has Indians, Jews, blacks, whites and gays looking at television. "To be honest with you, I was very sick and disgusted with the whole situation. For someone in the situation of Mr. Rocker to make those statements is ridiculous. I have no place in my heart for that." Rocker verbally sparred with Mets fans two months ago during the National League Championship Series, making him the target of derisive chants from fans in games played at Shea Stadium. The 25-year-old kept out of the spotlight until the Sports Illustrated article, which drew an immediate condemnation from New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Wednesday and damage control from Major League and Braves officials. Commissioner Bud Selig said Major League Baseball is reviewing Rocker's statements and threatened "appropriate action." "I think someone bigger than the Braves needs to step forward and do something," Aaron said, alluding to action by baseball. Braves general manager John Schuerholz said he spoke briefly with Rocker and was displeased with the comments. But he refused to take any disciplinary action until he meets personally with Rocker -- likely after the holidays -- and verifies the authenticity of the comments. Teammates Brian Jordan and Tom Glavine criticized Rocker for his remarks and Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone advocated trading him. The Braves released a statement from Rocker in which he did not deny making the comments, but said they "were not offered in the spirit they appeared in the article." The pitcher also offered an apology Wednesday, but the sheer volume of comments almost certainly will haunt Rocker into next season. In the SI article, he even called an unidentified black teammate "a fat monkey." "Everyone makes mistakes and I hope I will learn from the experience," Rocker said. "I am not a racist. ... I should not have said what I said since it is not what I feel in my heart." A native of Macon, Georgia, Rocker was 4-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 38 saves last season.
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