Weather 
Former Major League Baseball player John Rocker claimed he was no longer allowed to drink at a hotel bar because of being recognized for his social and political views.
“THE HILTON IN COLUMBUS OH JUST CUT US OFF AFTER A COUPLE DRINKS AMONGST A BUNCH OF PEOPLE,” Rocker, 51, shared via X on Tuesday, January 6. “I WAS FORCED TO PAY MY BILL BEFORE WE CASHED OUT. THEY SAID ‘WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE.’”
He added, “HILTON HOTELS NATIONWIDE SUPPORT THE WOKE MOB.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Rocker for comment.
Rocker — who pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998 to 2001 — is perhaps better known for his history of racist, homophobic and inflammatory remarks.
In 2000, Rocker was suspended for the remainder of spring training and the first 28 games of the season after making a series of racist comments during an interview with Sports Illustrated.
When asked if he would ever play for the New York Yankees or Mets, Rocker said, “I’d retire first. It’s the most hectic, nerve-wracking city. Imagine having to take the 7 Train to the ballpark looking like you’re riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.”
“The biggest thing I don’t like about New York are the foreigners,” he continued. “You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?”
Rocker later apologized, but that did not stop him from continuing the troubling trend moving forward.
In 2006, Rocker defended former teammate Ozzie Guillen, then the manager of the Chicago White Sox, after Guillen called Chicago Sun-Times sports reporter Jay Mariotti a gay slur.
“This is a free country. If he wants to use a lewd term, he should be able to use a lewd term,” Rocker told the Chicago Tribune. “Can’t you use a lewd term in America if you want?”
Rocker appeared on the 29th season of reality show Survivor in 2014, where he also found himself in hot water.
During an argument with castmate Nicole Anderson, Rocker said, “If you were a man, I’d knock your teeth out.”
Rocker frequently spouts off on social media these days, saying via X in October 2025, “There should be a ‘American Citizen Drive’ selection option on Uber. I don’t want to be driven by someone who was riding a camel 12 months ago.”
The former pitcher also joined the chorus of critics who disagreed with Bad Bunny being chosen as Super Bowl halftime performer.
“Bad Bunny performing at the superbowl is a slap in the face to the American people,” Rocker wrote via X in September 2025. “There’s no reason that such a patriotic event needs to be stained by a crossdressing singer who hardly speaks English.”
