When former Braves star Chipper Jones was blindsided by ex-teammate's insulting words pointing toward his race

In 2001, former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was regarded as "white trash" by erstwhile teammate John Rocker.

Rocker had been traded to the Cleveland Indians a week before, and Jones made some controversial comments about the same which led to Rocker using racial slander toward Jones.

"Chip's white trash anyway," Rocker said. "He's never had much respect for me, so I don't have much respect for him."

Jones irked Rocker by a "flippant comment" that he made about Rocker's actions during a bench-clearing game between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays two weeks prior. Jones later said that Rocker apologized to him for the same over a phone call.

Rocker wasn't happy that a series of mess-ups led to his trade from the team. He said:

"Unless you're one of their golden boys like (Greg) Maddux and (John) Smoltz and Chipper or (Tom) Glavine, you know that a series of mess-ups might get you a ticket out of there."

Later, Rocker said that his welcome to the Cleveland Indians was very warm, and he had recieved several positive feedbacks from fans.

Chipper Jones' awards and accolades

Chipper Jones #10 of the Atlanta Braves heads to the plate during the interleague game against the Baltimore Orioles at Turner Field on June 17, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-0. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Chipper Jones was an All-Star eight times and finished in the top 10 of the NL MVP voting five times. In 1999 and 2000, he won the NL Silver Slugger Award for third baseman. During the time of retirement, his 1,623 RBIs were the most that any player with a third base primary position has had.

Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.