CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: John Rocker may testify in his appeal hearing today. Rocker is appealing Major League Baseball's suspension of him until May for controversial comments he made in an interview. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is outside the office of major league baseball in New York -- Deborah.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, John Rocker is looking to convince an arbitrator to let him play. Yesterday was a very long day for the Braves relief pitcher, nine hours at an arbitration hearing. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig testified for most of that time, and he defended the $20,000 fine, as well as the two-month suspension which the imposed on Rocker.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did what I thought I had to do what was right, and that's as far as I -- you know, I -- I'm very comfortable in this position.</s>FEYERICK: Also here, Braves president Stan Kasten, he's testifying for management, and the president of the Players Union, that organization defending Rocker. But a group representing a minority coalition says there's no defense of Rocker's comments made against minorities, immigrants and gays.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he said was, I'm sorry. Now, whether that's an apology, it does not go anywhere near dispelling the reality of the hurt that his statements have caused.</s>MICHAEL LANGFORD, UNITED YOUTH ADULT CONFERENCE: We do not despise John Rocker, we despise the kind of hateful and bigotry comments that he made.</s>FEYERICK: Spring training is just a week away. The arbitrator will have to decide whether Rocker will have to ride out the entire suspension. This hearing is expected to conclude by the end of the day, and as you mentioned, John Rocker expected to testify. Reporting live, Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
John Rocker to Testify in MLB Suspension Appeal Hearing