"For the time being...I think we're going to give him another chance," Turner said of the John Rocker situation

January 20, 2000
Web posted at: 2:25 a.m. EST (0725 GMT)

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Ted Turner says the Atlanta Braves should give relief pitcher John Rocker "another chance" after the uproar caused by his comments against minorities and gays.

"I mean he's just a kid," Turner said in an interview on CNN's "Moneyline" program. "I think he was off his rocker when he said those things."

The Time Warner vice chairman said he preferred that Rocker seek therapy for the comments, as ordered by Major League Baseball two weeks ago.

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"I'm in favor of that. It's certainly better than something more severe, like cutting off his hands or something like that," Turner said Wednesday.

"It was unforgivable and he's apologized, and ... I don't think that we ought to hold it against him forever. Let's give him another chance."

"He didn't commit a crime."

At another point, Turner -- who built the Braves franchise into a baseball juggernaut -- said, "I'm not a psychiatrist, but he's a pretty good pitcher too, you know. If he couldn't get people out, I don't think it would have been, you know, as much of a problem."

Pressed on whether the Braves will keep Rocker, Turner said, "For the time being, I think we will. I think we're going to give him another chance."

"In the Bible, Jesus said you should give 90 times -- whatever -- you should give a lot," he said.

Last week, Rocker met with Braves great Hank Aaron and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young about his comments. Aaron said he felt "a lot better" after that meeting.

"What he said was that he was just sorry about what had happened and he said it in a way that was convincing to me," Aaron said.

In the controversial Sports Illustrated article, Rocker said, among other things, "The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners." He also singled out minority groups and gays and called a teammate a "fat monkey."