Aside from giving everyone from Jay Leno to President Clinton to Dan Patrick something to joke and opine about, Rocker did nothing. He is a troubled man by all accounts, one who grew up in the deep South, and a good athlete saddled with very reprehensible views. At worst, John Rocker abused his position as a high-profile media figure by making a few uninformed and warped statements. That type of display is nothing new to professional sports, for many years the stomping ground of angry, egotistical young men. Rocker could definitely have used his counseling as an opportunity for growth and atonement, but instead his handlers brought cameras to the sessions, pulling minority acquaintances out of the woodwork to testify to the pitcherâs Christian spirit.

Issues of blame are moot in this situation, for Selig acted under intense media pressure and Rocker acted as unenlightened and boorish as New Yorkers knew him to be. The only truly shocking lapse was on the part of the Braves organization, in not firing a man who showed no tolerance for others or pride at being able to play alongside twenty-four laudable sportsmen. Rockerâs teammates have never complain about losing close games or not getting flashy endorsements, but many of them made their disapproval known when their team retained on its roster a man who called a fellow Brave ãthat fat monkeyä. Hank Aaron, the home run king and the Atlantaâs favorite son, stepped up immediately after Sports Illustrated broke its story and asked for the team to dismiss Rocker. Nothing happened.

Comeuppance is well and good, as is punishment, and surely Rocker got both. Still, on May 1 he will take the field wearing a Braves uniform, the blue and red of Aaron and Glavine and Smoltz, and professional sports will be embarrassed on that day. Would the record suspension or sensitivity training have been necessary if Atlanta had simply left Rocker in the cold? Would any other self-respecting team touch him after one of baseballâs elite declared Rocker, his burgeoning talent notwithstanding, unfit to play the game of baseball? Dennis Rodman, who lacks Rockerâs racist bent but shares his affinity for the spotlight of infamy, won a handful of rings while stooping so low that his rainbow-colored hairdo touched the very bottom rung of decency. Even now, after his arrest for assault and his admission that he married a bimbo while drunk in Las Vegas, former Bulls coach Phil Jackson declared that he wouldnât mind having Rodman in L.A. This started bidding and speculation, which ended with the Dallas Mavericks buying Rodman for top dollar. Not only does he provide rebounding help, ãDennis the Menaceä also lends a bad-boy panache to his new team, a team that would have retained more respectability at the bottom of the standings than it will by winning games with Rodman on board. The Mavericks and the Braves obviously share a sad reluctance to set a good example for their sports; let Rocker play in Japan and Rodman in Europe, but neither of them should still be playing in an American professional sports league.

Athletics is an admirable field, one that requires a unique blend of physical prowess and mental acuity. As sports turned professional, emotional maturity was added to that equation, but the standard of excellence has become so low in recent years that the old-fashioned sports hero is nearly dead. Rae Carruth and Ray Lewis of the NFL were both arrested on murder charges in the past two months, while even Air Jordan himself has been unable to escape the label of endorsement-mad corporate shill. John Rockerâs big mouth ultimately harmed no one, but it ought to be the last straw in the demonization culture of sports media. Rather than giving free copy to Rocker and free airtime to self-absorbed linebackers referring to themselves in the third person, it is time for ESPN, CNN, SI, et al to seek out new heroes.

Looking at the Braves roster, one sees numerous examples of exemplary athletes, good examples for baseball: Andres Galarraga is dedicating his life to beating cancer and getting back on the field; Eddie Perez and Javy Lopez both do charity work and both stepped up in their fallen teammateâs absence; Brian Jordan is a consummate gentleman on and off the field; and Andruw Jones is one of the best emerging talents in the game, staying in Atlanta despite numerous high-profile, big-money contracts elsewhere. These men, all minorities, have carried the Braves on their backs through World Series after World Series this decade, but have only won once. No one overtly snubbed Rocker, but each Brave made clear in his own manner that they would not be dragged down to the pitcherâs level and would find it hard to support him.