From the Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh :
John Rocker walked into the room to meet the man assigned to conduct his Major League Baseball-mandated sensitivity training six years ago and walked out shortly thereafter with the discussion delving no deeper than the weather.
“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.
Rocker’s comments also drew a fine that was reduced upon appeal from $20,000 to $500 but says that, too, was more about show than dough.
“I never paid a cent, a lot of players never pay a cent,” Rocker said. “It’s just a front to look good and the way Selig cowers to pressure.”
A teammate of Guillen’s in Atlanta in 1998-99, Rocker considers Guillen a friend and remembered the way the shortstop was the “class clown” of the Braves’ clubhouse.
Naturally, he defended Guillen’s right to say whatever is on his mind:
“This is a free country. 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?”