'Survivor' 2014 Spoilers: Did John Rocker Get Eliminated From Season 29 Because Of His Controversial MLB Past?

No castaway came in to “Survivor: San Juan Del Sur – Blood vs. Water” with more fan anticipation than former MLB pitcher John Rocker. Fans were eager to see if the former ballplayer, a magnet for controversy in his playing days, would cause trouble. In episode 3, Josh tired of John’s in-game lies and engineered a plan to vote him out, but John’s past may have helped in his early exit.

John Rocker had a rough episode 3. After failing to keep Val in the game, which he promised Jeremy on Exile Island he would do, John was facing some heat. At the reward challenge, John publicly apologized to Jeremy in front of both tribes, frustrating Jeremy, who did not believe he did everything he could to save his wife from elimination, and Josh, who was unaware that John had conspired to save Val (and the other three guys in the all-male alliance) behind his back.

Back at camp, Baylor started to test the waters of voting John out, hoping to save herself. Meanwhile, Jeremy, angry about his wife, clued the Hunahpu tribe in on John’s disreputable past, including racist comments he once made in an interview. He also claimed that John was the mastermind in the Coop all-male alliance.

The situation came to a head at the immunity challenge, when Natalie, fueled by Jeremy’s rant and believing John got her sister voted out, used some poor sportsmanship from John in the challenge as an excuse to go off. Natalie ranted after the challenge, calling John a racist and bringing up his past in front of both tribes to an extent that even host Jeff Probst had to address the issue. Natalie was even able to goad John into saying he would “knock her teeth out” if she were a man.

John Rocker became the third person voted out of “Survivor” Season 29 when Coyopa went to tribal council that night. Despite Josh masterminding John’s exit for his own reasons, the blowup and surfacing of John’s past did not make it hard to convince the rest of the tribe to follow suit. John came into the game hoping to conceal his past from the tribe, and maybe that was wise. It looks like it may just have been his downfall.

Do you think John’s past helped him get voted out? Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.