John Rocker Still Throwing Racial Taunts

Posted Jan 23, 2009 4:15PM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Braves

Update: Rocker responds.

It's been a while since we've had the pleasure of hearing about racist redneck John Rocker. He must have missed the spotlight, so he apparently decided to make a mockery of himself once again. Any concerns that, as a 34-year-old, he may have developed some maturity, should be alleviated.

Thursday night, Rocker attended the grand opening of W Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta. He ended up coming face-to-face with a local sports-talk radio personality -- Steak Shapiro -- who had been critical of Rocker's behavior in the past.

Now, most adults would approach the situation in a mature manner, maybe even attempting to prove that the necessary personality changes have been made. Of course, Rocker isn't really normal. Or smart.

"Basically, last night, John proved he was everything I've said he was over the years," Shapiro said Friday. "I saw him staring me up and down. I told him, 'John, let's be civil here, that was all a long time ago.' He told me, 'It wasn't that long ago, mother [expletive]. And right away, he pulled out the 'Jew' card."

Ah, the racial slur. The uneducated way of expressing distaste for another person. If you aren't smart enough to tell someone how you feel about them without using language relating to their race, religion, or nationality; you should be educating yourself instead of picking fights.

Needless to say, Rocker was escorted from the premises, as several witnesses corroborated Shapiro's story. As the story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out, it's been nine years since the infamous Sports Illustrated debacle where Rocker voluntarily exposed himself as a bigot.

Nine years, and he still hasn't changed. How sad.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

1-23-2009 @ 4:58PM

JayQuo said...

Way to shoot the horse you were riding on in the very first paragraph. Railing against intolerance/discrimination/stereotyping/whatever you want to accuse him of, and then calling him a redneck. If you're gonna interject social commentary into a sports blog, at least be consistent. Either get a thicker skin and don't worry about racists, or if you still want to headline the PC patrol, then take a stand against all forms of political incorrectness/

1-23-2009 @ 5:04PM

Matt Snyder said...

"Redneck" is politically incorrect? Do I have to worry about a bunch of self-proclaimed "rednecks" taking me to task?

C'mon. That's an insult used for people who are stupid and haven't evolved past the times when it was all white, protestant America.

All insults are not under the politically incorrect umbrella.

Clay said...

JayQuo has a very good point.

1-23-2009 @ 5:14PM

clubberj said...

First, you might not like what Rocker says but he is allowed to say , pretty much, anything he wants and sometimes pay the price for saying it, like being asked to leave the event.

Second, calling someone a "Jew", which I guess is what you mean by "pulling out the jew card", is not racial. Judaism is a religion.

Third, if he is of the jewish faith, it is not even a taunt, rather a fact.

Fourth, Rocker is an idiot. He will not change, why would you exppect him to?

Fifth, please be more accurate in your reporting.

1-23-2009 @ 5:22PM

I didn't say anything about "pulling out the 'jew' card." That was a direct quote from Shapiro, the man who Rocker accosted. He insinuated Rocker was using inflammatory language relating to his religion.

georgechgo8 said...

why do you even bother with him.people have forgotten him a long time ago and to be frank i think you use the race thing because it gets you attention.cover sport fiqures that people care about.it's the same as a certain racial slur that people can't use but certain people still do because if the word disappears they have nothing to complain about.so let rocker disappear or can't you find a new story

1-23-2009 @ 5:34PM

Matt

mmmmmmmm

Ok, so you agree not a "racial taunt" as stated in your headline.

Last I checked, anyone is allowed to "use inflamatory language relating to his religion", and the hotel can throw him out of their private party for doing so.

You should probably check with a few of the 2008 candidates. I am sure Mitt Romney(mormon), Huckabee(evangelical,baptist, I believe), and Barack Obama(is he or isn't he muslim/reverend wright) could give you many references where your beloved press questioned their religious/religion's views in an "inflamatory manner."

1-23-2009 @ 5:37PM

No, it's not politically incorrect, in the sense that the self-proclaimed authorities on the subject don't flip to condemnation mode the second they hear it. It's in the same category as "white trash". Say one of those jokingly in some PC stronghold like Boston or Frisco and nobody will bat an eyelash.

I wouldn't put either in the category of words/phrases on every ban list like nigger, chink, spic, etc. (cracker, however, is in that category yet draws little reaction itself) But they are absolutely on the same level as less-direct insults such as wetback or towelhead and worse than a word like "thug", which is definitely a touchy one with many people. And you know why? Because it deals with black people.

You're right that not all insults fall into the realm of political incorrectness, but the number that do is increasing at an alarming rate. It's only a matter of time before even the most basic insults like "stupid" or "idiotic" are declared off-limits by the upper-middle class white people who go out of their way to be offended on behalf of somebody else at least a couple of times a day. These are the same left-leaners who talk about how unjust the FCC is, how everyone should be their own censors, yada yada yada. But that's another double standard for another day.

Point is, if you take a phrase like that and attach it to any other race, you're going to catch all kinds of hell for it. It's only safe when the target of your ire is a white person. Don't believe me? Do a little experiment. Think of a cutesy compound-word nickname for any minority group involving an adjective (even better if it's a color), and a body part. Asian = slanteyes. Indian = redface. Black = fatlips. Shall I keep going? Or have you learned your lesson yet?

I'm not asking you to stop using the term redneck. I'm as un-PC as they come. I'm a white man who's best friends are almost all non-white, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to make fun of my Korean friend's driving skills or how much my pal from the west indies loves fried chicken.

So what I'm asking of you is to stop being a big baby and talk sports. If somebody's truly a racist, that will come out and then nobody's gonna wanna to put up with his ish. But don't sit here whining about it.

1-23-2009 @ 6:12PM

jojoisback1313 said...

It's not even close how right jayquo is. Rarely do people with daily GENUINE crosscultural interaction, have an issue with politically correctness. He is obviously more intelligent, and i would even wager more kind, than mr. snyder, who can't even see his own folly when it's clearly articulated at him. not an ounce of it. He had an agenda with this article, and he would have to admit that to himself in order to recognize the truth.
I feel like a bit of an idiot myself, giving this article attention and my time. But i had to give credit to jayquo, where credit was due, and now u'll never see me here again.. (i don't think i've seen a sports story about sports in weeks on this site. At what point is that not an issue about the players, but the writers?)
and john rocker? i'm indifferent, for i don't know the man. He many be an idiot all the time, he may not. whatever. And i'm an old mets fan and i used to take the 7 train every day.

1-29-2009 @ 1:06PM

rlnico4 said...

well said

1-23-2009 @ 6:16PM

FLACO said...

Ah, the racial slur. The uneducated way of expressing distaste for another person. If you aren't smart enough to tell someone how you feel about them without using language relating to their race, religion, or nationality; you should be educating yourself instead of picking fights.

So its inteligent to call someone a redneck.John Rocker never attacked you personally he said what he said in general and later appoligized for it.Why attack him personally when you never meet the guy before? Did you expect him to give you a big hug, after you write article after article about him? When you poke at a bear and the bear bites back don't act surprised.We all know who John Rocker is so lets let him live his life as he is and not who you want him to be.

1-23-2009 @ 6:28PM

boyschwen said...

"Third, if he is of the jewish faith, it is not even a taunt, rather a fact."

It is a taunt by way of malicious connotation.

1-23-2009 @ 6:44PM

altadoff said...

boyschwen,
from a Jew to you: you don't know what you're talking about.

1-23-2009 @ 6:47PM

boyschwen,
that should have been addressed to clubberj, my bad.

1-23-2009 @ 7:03PM

rob said...

Good job Matt Snyder. You criticize a guy for using racial taunts by using racial taunts yourself. So let me get this straight, John Rocker using a slur against one Jewish person at a hotel is wrong but it's alright for you to post an article on the internet using a derogatory term for white protestants?

1-23-2009 @ 7:05PM

Um, dude, I'm a white protestant. "Redneck" refers to uneducated morons -- most likely racist. Rocker qualifies.

1-23-2009 @ 7:45PM

Actually, its a derogatory term for a member of the WHITE Southern rural laboring class, so yes it is racial.(look it up in the dictionary) Don't worry though Matt I'm sure that AOL won't make you issue an apology or fire you like they would have if you used equivalent terms to describe people of other races, religions, etc.

1-23-2009 @ 7:30PM

Alright, then. Start listing all the possible colors of skin a recipient of the insult "redneck" can possibly have.

I'll wait.

Developing writer's block over there?

That's because the list is all of one item long. It only ever applies to white people.

Exercise number 2 for you, since the first one hasn't hit home yet, apparently.

Give me an example of a word or phrase commonly used to describe people of any race that isn't considered a slur.

Seriously, if you're going to buy into the white guilt BS, that's your prerogative, but do it somewhere that's not a blog about sports. You know, the pastime America turns to to get away from social, economic, and political issues? Otherwise, man up, acknowledge that you didn't have a damn thing to do with past racial injustices in America (as far as I know, anyways) and stop letting others brainwash you into holding your own race to double standards.

1-23-2009 @ 8:22PM

Hey, you're right. I wouldn't call anyone of another race a redneck. I guess that makes me racist, against my own race, no less. You got me.

I apologize to all those "rednecks" out there. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Sincerely.

1-23-2009 @ 7:32PM

Allow me to amend that second-to-last paragraph. It should read:
Give me an example of a word or phrase commonly used to describe, and exclusive to, a people of any race that isn't considered a slur.