(John) Rocker calls sensitivity training a 'farce'

[Bill McBlueState]

So John Rocker stands up for Ozzie Guillen. Guillen must be happy to know he's in the company of such class. (But I do agree that sensitivity training seems silly. MLB should just fine the hell out of Guillen, suspend him for a week, and be done with it, instead of creating a circus.)

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Ozzie Guillen was ordered to attend sensitivity training for a homophobic slur he made about Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti. According to John Rocker, Guillen won't get anything out of it.

...

Rocker was a teammate of Guillen's with the Atlanta Braves in 1998-99 and said he considers Guillen a friend. He defended Guillen's right to speak his mind.

"This is a free country. If he wants to use a lewd term, he should be able to use a lewd term," Rocker told the newspaper. "Can't you use a lewd term in America if you want?"

...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2499926

[Kagemusha]

1. In America, yes. As a coach paid millions, there are expectations

And such a coach is very much a public figure. Besides, it wasn't the lewdness which was the problem. It was the f-word for homosexual males. Perhaps Rocker thinks this was an accurate and flattering term for the individual being so targeted?

[ShortnFiery]

2. PssT! A comment like that may send John Rocker

to the Middle East to function in the "Diplomatic Corps."

I don't see how he could do any more damage than Bolton or Liz Cheney. :blush: :P

[gratuitous]

3. It IS a farce - for Rocker

You have to have a certain modicum of sensitivity in order for the training to develop it.

[jobycom]

4. Rocker has a point

Right on top of his stupid little head. You're right, Bill, Ozzie is probably horrified that he's being defended by Rocker. Ozzie let the slur slip out while on a tirade against a reporter. He wasn't actually saying he hates gays, he was just blasting out whatever insults he could think of. Rocker directly insulted whole groups of people, including gays, and his insults were aimed directly at them. I have no idea whether Ozzie is a decent person or not, whether he is a homophobe or not, or whether he was just hurling words around. There is no doubt what Rocker meant, though. They are completely different situations.

And if Ozzie Guillen is a decent person who just let the wrong word slip without thinking about it, sensitivity training might help, since the training would not be trying to change his views, just trying to make him more aware of the impact of his words. Rocker was a lost cause, because he was a small-minded, petty little boy who iked himself that way. Maybe Ozzie is a man. Maybe he will learn something. Or maybe not, but it's worth the effort.

[OwnedByFerrets]

6. I cannot defend Ozzie. If you let things like this "slip out"

its because you "think" them. He should have received a similar fate as Rocker did.
Having said that, why is it that we are so "hard" on sports figures (the list of sports personalities that have been punished for slurs is very long) yet people (and I use that term loosely) like rush, colter, and o'liely can tell lies and use slurs every day and get paid big bucks for it? I know the answer....its because they make money for the people they work for....but that still doesn't make it any more palatable.

[jobycom]

8. I don't know, I use profanity frequently without meaning the literal

thing the words I say mean. Mother F'er, is a classic example. Or bastard. Ozzie, not a native English speaker, could very well just have picked this word up as a potent insult in his world without ever really considering what the word would mean to anyone else.

As for why some industries accept more vile language and some don't, you're right, it's because of the money, or more specifically, the audience. Conservative publishers know that such insults will excite their audience, and that mainstream Americans wouldn't buy their books, anyway. Baseball or any other national entertainment industry has to worry what mainstream Americans will think, since that's their audience. It proves that America as a whole is much better than the filthy Republicans believe it is.

[CurtEastPoint]

5. And where is John Rocker now? My how the mighty (?) have fallen!

After this: Speaking of New York City, Rocker told Sports Illustrated in January 2000: "It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the 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, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing."


Poor John: Rocker received intense taunting from opposing teams' fans, and continued to receive abuse from New York Mets fans. His pitching performance declined. Rocker was traded to the Cleveland Indians, and later to the Texas Rangers. In 2003, he played two games for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before being released.

O, Karma! THANK YOU!

[Hugin]

7. But, But, But... It was a vocabulary malfunction!

Throw the book at him!

[Egalitariat]

9. He's right. Sensitivity Training is a farce.

You can't train Sensitivity to a grown man.