Tuesday, August 08, 2000
Reds fans not too riled by Rocker
Pitcher shakes hands with Vitale
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The folks at Cinergy Field who root for the Reds were a lot more concerned Monday night about what's wrong with their team than they were about what's wrong with John Rocker.
As for Braves fans at Cinergy Field — and there were a lot of them — they were just happy to be able to watch their team without having to deal with any fallout about the Braves relief pitcher, whose words have gotten him into such trouble this season.
Rocker came into the game in the ninth inning to fans' boos and later gave up the tying run. There were no banners, and no taunts or epithets yelled at Rocker by any fans on Monday, the Braves' first appearance at Cinergy Field since Rocker's infamous offseason remarks disparaging homosexuals, foreigners and New Yorkers.
“I think it shows maturity on the part of the fans here that they're letting bygones by bygones,” said Eric Collier, 30, of Piqua. “Rocker was probably raised that way. Maybe he didn't know any better. His words affected a lot of people, and I think he was wrong. But I'm glad the fans here aren't carrying on about it.”
When Rocker jogged off the field after shagging balls during batting practice, he extended his hand to basketball commentator Dick Vitale, who was in the Braves dugout. Vitale shook Rocker's hand.
“What he said (in the Sports Illustrated story) was absurd, ridiculous, totally uncalled for and absolutely insane,” Vitale said. “Some of the (Braves) players tell me they see some signs of improvement in his attitude, and I hope and pray for his sake that it's true. He's young enough (to change).
John Dumfort, 28, a Braves fan from Eastgate, compared it to the situation former Reds chief executive officer Marge Schott got herself into. “She shouldn't have said what she said, and he shouldn't have said what he said,” Dumfort said. “But, my gosh, it's only words and until they put actions to those words that show their heart really is where their mouth is, I'm not going to condemn them.”
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Reds fans not too riled by Rocker
