John Rocker calls sensitivity training ‘farce’
Former major leaguer defends Guillen, says Selig 'scared little man'
June 25, 2006
What can Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen expect from his mandated sensitivity training? Not much, John Rocker says, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
Major League Baseball ordered Guillen to attend sensitivity training after the manager used a homophobic slur in remarks about a Chicago newspaper columnist.
Rocker, who played last year with the Long Island (N.Y.) Ducks but is currently out of baseball, was ordered to a similar program after making racist and homophobic remarks to Sports Illustrated in 2000.
But it doesn't sound like Rocker got much out of the training, the Tribune reported.
"The guy told me when I got there I had to show up to make it look good for people, so after about 15 minutes I left and walked right out of the room and it satisfied the powers that be," Rocker said.
Guillen, whom Rocker played with for the Atlanta Braves in 1998-99, originally said in an interview with ESPNDeportes that he would not attend the training, but he later said he would.
Rocker called the sensitivity training "a farce" and a public-relations ploy, the Tribune reported.
"It was a farce, a way for the scared little man, Bud Selig, to get people off his (back),” Rocker said, the newspaper reported.
Rocker also defended Guillen, saying he had a right to free speech, the Tribune reported.
“This is a free country,” Rocker said, the newspaper reported. “If he wants to use a lewd term, he should be able to use a lewd term. Can't you use a lewd term in America if you want?”
Submitted by Pasadena Phil
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