John Rocker: those SI comments still haunt him 15 years later
Based on a poll I posted last week, 70 percent of people said they will miss John Rocker on "Survivor." I do, already.
Sure, his girlfriend Julie McGee is still there but really, how long will she survive? She knows she has the Rocker stigma tattooed on her back. It will ultimately come down to her social game now.
She managed to escape the first tribal council of her group with only two votes while Drew alienated his own crew with his arrogant attitude and general sense of lassitude. He was stupid enough to throw his own immunity challenge, thinking he was the "kingpin" who needed to cleanse his own group. "I'm the bad ass and manipulator of this game," he said mindlessly. He says Kelley needs to be out and she overheard his moronic statements.
The tribe was a mess with four people named in tribal council.
Ultimately, Drew was deservedly out and blindsided quite nicely, losing the girls plus Jeremy.
During an interview with People.com, Rocker apparently uses the F-word 29 times (taken out after the fact in editing) but insists he's a good guy haunted by the Sports Illustrated comments had made 15 years earlier. Plus, his short temper just added more fuel to the fire. Clearly, he is still bitter about the situation. While he said he regrets them, he clearly harbors deep-seated resentment as opposed to deep-seated repentance.
Still, he provided the best defense he could: he allied with the gay guy and then with the black woman on his tribe. So there! He noted that Natalie's diatribe went on a lot longer than what was shown last week, that she really riled up by the fact he voted her sister out. And Jeremy was no happier that his wife was voted out. He felt he had no choice but to respond and trash talk.
He noted that since the show, he has become friends with Natalie and Jeremy.
Wow. This was a textbook example of someone's past coming back to haunt them.No s–––, Sherlock. I said some things in an interview 15 years ago and I regret them. I've been asked about them over and over again by journalists. Journalists are the ones who made me into a villain over the years. And I got on Survivor and those same damn comments came up again. It's low-hanging fruit at this point; it's been a long time. It's irritating because it was so long ago, and I'm still paying for those comments.... Can't anyone come up with something new? So I wasn't surprised to have them throw it back in my face.
"We're A Hot Mess" - Julie McGee during the fourth episode of Survivor 29, Wednesday, Oct. 15 (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS é2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
