ATLANTA -- At least John Rocker's boss is in his corner.

Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner says the eccentric reliever should be given another chance to redeem himself over his disparaging comments about immigrants, minorities and homosexuals.

"He's just a kid," the CNN founder and Time-Warner vice chairman said of the 25-year-old Rocker during an interview on CNN's "Moneyline" on Wednesday. "I think he was off his rocker when he said those things.

"He's apologized. I don't think we ought to hold it against him forever. Let's give him another chance. He didn't commit a crime," Turner said in his first public comment on Rocker since the furor began last month.

The Braves organization has been under pressure to discipline Rocker, who apologized during an ESPN interview on Jan. 12 for remarks published in an issue of Sports Illustrated last month. The Braves closer said he was trying to get even with New York fans who harassed him during playoffs against the Mets, and the World Series against the Yankees.

"The New York fans really did get on him," Turner said.

He said he agreed with the approach of baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who two weeks ago ordered Rocker to undergo psychological tests. Selig has not announced a decision on whether he would suspend or fine Rocker. "He's a pretty good pitcher, too," Turner said. "If he couldn't get people out, I don't think it would have been as much of a problem."