NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY

 For release: February 3, 2000
 =======================================

 Did baseball break anti-discrimination
 law by suspending racist John Rocker?

         WASHINGTON, DC -- Major League Baseball may have violated
 federal law by suspending John Rocker -- because if the loudmouth
 pitcher's bigoted opinions are caused by a "mental illness," then he's
 protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Libertarian Party
 noted today.

         "It sounds crazy, but if John Rocker is a crazy bigot, then
 it's a federal crime to discriminate against him in any way," said
 Steve Dasbach, the party's national director.

         "Even more amazing, if John Rocker is crazy, then Major League
 Baseball must make 'reasonable accommodations' for his prejudices --
 which could include keeping foreigners and homosexuals away from him --
 so he can continue to pitch."

         On Monday, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that
 Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker will be suspended until May 1, fined
 $20,000, and ordered to attend sensitivity training.

         Rocker sparked a firestorm of controversy in December when he
 was quoted in Sports Illustrated criticizing homosexuals, foreigners
 who don't speak English, people with "purple hair," Asian women
 drivers, toll booths, criminals, and young mothers with many children.

         Although he promptly apologized, Rocker was ordered to undergo
 psychological testing -- and that's where the League got into trouble,
 said Dasbach.

         "As long as John Rocker was just an ordinary bigot, then the
 League can discipline him as it sees fit -- within the limits of his
 contract, of course," said Dasbach. "And that makes sense: As a
 business that relies on the goodwill of the public, professional
 baseball should be able to set standards of conduct for its employees.

         "But the federal government doesn't agree. Thanks to the
 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), you can fire a sane bigot -- but
 it's illegal to discriminate against a crazy bigot. So, if those
 psychological tests determine that John Rocker's bigotry is caused by
 mental illness, then he will be protected by the full power and might
 of the federal government."

         Sounds too preposterous to be true? It's not. In March 1997,
 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a ruling to
 protect "mentally ill or emotionally unstable" employees from
 discrimination.

         The EEOC's guidelines could have had Rocker in mind, said
 Dasbach: Employees may be mentally ill or emotionally unstable if they
 display, for example, "consistently high levels of hostility," rude
 behavior, or chronically bad judgment, according to the government.

         "Under those guidelines, John Rocker appears to have hit a home
 run: He's hostile, rude, and he displays poor judgment," said Dasbach.
 "Thanks to the EEOC, he should qualify for maximum job protection."

         And Major League Baseball may qualify for a maximum lawsuit:
 Not only is it illegal to discriminate against crazy people, it's also
 illegal to require them to take tests to find out if they are mentally
 ill, or to ask them if they are mentally ill -- even if the employee is
 visibly disturbed.

         So what should employers do when they have a John Rocker-type
 person on the payroll? Make "reasonable accommodations" for them, says
 the EEOC.

         In its 1997 ruling, the EEOC said government-mandated
 accommodations for mentally ill people might include barriers to
 protect "distracted" employees from noise, or reassigning co-workers
 away from a "paranoid" person.

         "Under these guidelines, if Mr. Rocker is crazy, baseball has
 to make sure that he can continue to practice his federally protected
 bigotry, free from interference," said Dasbach. "Perhaps the League
 could start by banning homosexuals, foreigners, people with purple
 hair, Asian women, criminals, and young mothers from his games?"

         And more good news for John Rocker: If found guilty of an ADA
 violation, Major League Baseball could be forced to pay up to $300,000
 in damages -- and still be liable for millions in civil lawsuits.

         "Thanks to the federal government, being a crazy bigot could
 turn out to be more lucrative for Mr. Rocker than playing professional
 baseball," said Dasbach. "Given all the advantages of being crazy, he'd
 have to be crazy not to be crazy."