DALLAS -- Texas Rangers pitcher John Rocker issued a written apology through the team Monday for anti-gay remarks he made toward patrons of a popular Dallas eatery on Sunday. Rocker said he was with his girlfriend eating at Breadwinners Cafe & Bakery when some customers at other tables began badgering and pestering him. "It seemed as if they were trying to bait me with suggestive comments," Rocker said in the statement. Breadwinners, a breakfast, lunch and brunch spot, is located in a predominantly gay Dallas neighborhood. Richard Garcia, who waited on Rocker and his girlfriend, said the ballplayer was not provoked by other patrons. Garcia said Rocker called a male couple sitting at a nearby table "fruitcakes" as he got up and left. "That's nothing someone should hear from somebody who's supposed to be a role model," Garcia said in a story in The Dallas Morning News' Tuesday edition. "Just because you're a superstar, that still does not license you to say that." Rocker said after he finished his meal and got up to leave, the unidentified patrons followed him out of the restaurant and made an obscene gesture. "At that point, I admit I was angry and said some things I probably should not have said, but I wanted to make it clear their attentions were unwelcome," he said. Rangers spokesman John Blake told The Associated Press that the remarks were anti-gay in nature but Rocker's specific comments were unknown. "I didn't ask him exactly what he said," Blake said. Rangers manager John Hart issued a separate statement, saying: "John told me he did lose his temper after some customers badgered him, made suggestive comments and then followed him and his girlfriend out of the restaurant." The Rangers were traveling to Detroit Monday and could not be reached for further comment. Rocker remains reviled by some for disparaging remarks he made about gays and minorities in a Sports Illustrated interview before the 2000 season. "Of course, we do not condone name-calling," Hart said. "Our general advice to players is to leave a hostile public situation. And that's what he did. It is my opinion that this is a personal issue between John and the people in the restaurant." In 1999, Rocker saved 38 games and pitched in the World Series for Atlanta. He saved 24 games in 2000 and 23 last season before the Braves traded him in June 2001 to Cleveland. Rocker, who has been on the disabled list for the Rangers since July 4 with a left shoulder injury, traveled with the team to Detroit. "He's human but he should know better. There are a lot of people here who aren't going to go to any Rangers games again. I'm not going to go. I can't support them. That is just uncalled for," Breadwinners manager Feletia Lee told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW. John Rocker the superstar!
Usually when people attack a culture, it's because they see that they have some of that culture's same characteristics in themselves and are ashamed of it. So they try to hide it from others by attacking those who share this trait with them. Hmmm...that would mean John Rocker is a gay young mother of Asian descent who loves the NY Mets and riding subways deep down at heart.
Come on. He got harassed in public, and he returned the treatment in kind with the pretty tame insult "fruitcakes". Lighten up, Francis. Pretty harmless stuff, especially considering we already know what kind of person Rocker is.
Yeah I actually said much worse in a road rage incident last week. A guy kept pulling in front of me and slamming on breaks, so I pulled up alongside him and told him to pull over. I pulled over, and then coaxed him into pulling over. He tried to use his 6" of height and 50 lbs of fat to intimidate me, but I went to that special place. That place where I wore leotards and wrestled with sweaty mens . In that special place you release the demons, and then you become tuned for pretty much any aggressive situation. I shoved the fat **** a few times and called him every name in the book. I tried my best into baiting him into a fight (my Mrs. and I had been in our first serious fight a few minutes before... I want to sell our condo and buy a house and she thinks that means I want to live in UT for the rest of my life. She concluded that we had a serious issue in our relationship and somehow I concluded that I wanted to kill this guy in front of me). I seriously wanted to fight this guy. Unfortunately, I have to admit, I said things that would have gotten me into one of these ball players' therapy groups. At the time, it was just a baiting exercise. But I've felt like a friggin' dork ever since. This is my story. I have anger management issues. I apologize to gays and lesbians and car dealers (he had a dealer tag ) that I would have offended had they been in that situation with me. I don't apologize to that son of a b****, but that's because he tried to egg me on. Oh, until the point in which I shoved him and drew a fist. Then suddenly "he didn't want to go to jail". Oops, I'm sinking into special place again. Time to go work at the gay coffee shop and cleanse my soul. Oops, that kinda sounds gay. I mean, time to work at the gay coffee shop and realize that words can be harmful. When I want to kill people on the side of I-80, I should resort to other baiting tactics, like just calling him a fat ****. Or saying things about his wife. Or about his hair cut.
yawn.... Rocker calls someone a "fruitcake" and it becomes popular to jump on the moral-high-ground-bandwagon and condemn it. My gosh, if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone insult gays, then I'd be retired right now. I'm not saying it's right (or wrong), but my point is that people are seriously blowing this out of proportion. Why do people act like this is the first time in recorded history that someone has been called a "fruitcake"? ridiculous. And if these two guys followed him out of the restaurant and gave him a gesture because of that, then they are the ones at fault, not John Rocker.
He was 6 inches tall? No, but seriously I enjoyed and even laughed at your story, but only because laughter is a form of identification. I totally feel ya Achebe. Road rage is a hard thing to avoid sometimes. Don't feel bad, just learn from your mistake.
Achebe's story was MUCH worse than ANYTHING John Rocker has done. When people assault others physically, they should cool off in jail. When people assault others verbally, they should be ignored.
Fruitcakes?? Who cares?? I'm willing to wager all of the parties involved have been called worse by their own friends.
I really don't care what John Rocker says anymore. I don't think he should have been suspended for his previous comments about gays and minorities either. He's a moron. Let him be villified in the public, as he is being. He will live forever with the shame of his words. No need to fine him on top of that. Same goes for Bowden. They're both just ignorant fools.
I got a couple of questions to ask: 1) Did Rocker not know the reputation of that restaurant?? 2) How come Rocker is deemed completely at fault when he was pretty much baited into what he was saying?? (according to Rocker) Even if he made that up, there was no excuse for these people to follow him outside and give him an obscene gesture. What's that old saying again?? Two wrongs don't make a right. This seems like to me to almost be a set-up to be an "assassination" of the, ahem, character of Mr. Rocker.
Kagy, I don't know how much this changes things...but "fruitcakes" is what he said as he was leaving - then they all were outside and he "said some things I probably should not have said." Who knows what happened...who cares? I have heard Rocker on the radio a bit - on a morning show where they let him be himself. He is a major ass and is a huge racist/homophobe, etc. Actually, it seems that he hates just about everybody. Achebe, I guess that is safe to do in Utah? Where I am from you don't do stuff like that unless you want some new holes in your body. I woulda busted you up.
I agree with BK here. If it were he or I that said it, it would havebeen no big deal. Sounded like the guys were egging him on and loving the attention. Free publicity for the restaurant as well.
The way I look at it: if you're gay and don't like John Rocker, bully for you. If you're gay, don't like him, and harass him in public, you should expect to be called several bad names by him. Don't cry about it after the fact; what did you think was going to happen when you harassed a homophobe? He'd make fun of your outfit? Rocker's an American. He's got every right to act like an *******.
I'm not the least bit surprised by Rocker. He's a caveman and we all know it. He should be banned from baseball for life. As for the rest of you who excuse that kind of behavior, no matter what the circumstances, it's no different than getting upset and calling a black guy a n***er. Shame on you.
