[Bill Hemmer, Cnn Anchor:] John Rocker says he just lost his cool. The Atlanta Braves pitcher is now apologizing for recent controversial comments that he made about minorities, homosexuals and others, but is it enough to end the war over his words? For more now, here's CNN's Aram Roston on this story.
[Aram Roston, Cnn Correspondent:] It comes down to John Rocker's word then against John Rocker's word now.
[John Rocker, Atlanta Braves Pitcher:] You hit one home run in the big leagues, it doesn't make you a homerun hitter, obviously, and you make one off-handed comment like this without thinking, you just blurt it out, and in front of a reporter you blurt it out, you can't get it back. To make one comment like this doesn't make you a racist.
[Roston:] Rocker said he is no racist. The Atlanta Braves relief pitcher said his comments about New York City, which criticized gays, Hispanics and other minorities, were in part a response to the way he'd been treated by New York Fans. When he called a teammate a "fat monkey," he said it was locker-room humor. Those were just some of the comments he'd made in an interview with "Sports Illustrated" magazine, last month. He said if he'd heard someone else make the same comments as he had in "Sports Illustrated"
[Rocker:] I would think I was you know, was a complete jerk, like, you know, who the heck does this guy think he is, you know, mouthing off like this, you know.
[Roston:] Wednesday, he visited his hometown of Macon, Georgia. The mayor had already called for reconciliation.
[Mayor Jack Ellis, Macon, Georgia:] He is sorry about what he said, and he's sorry that he upset people, and he understands that.
[Roston:] Not everyone is so forgiving.
[Derrick Boazman, Atlanta City Council:] Racist, bigoted, homophobic, dangerous, incendiary speech, which has at its root the intent to inflict harm, as Mr. Rocker said.
[Roston:] Last week, Major League Baseball ordered Rocker to undergo a psychological examination, but there is still no word on the future of his career and whether his recantation and his apologies will save it. Aram Roston, CNN, Atlanta.