Pete Rose Responds to Latest Allegations

On June 23, a report from ESPN’s Outside the Lines said that former Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose had bet on baseball as a player, not exclusively as a manager. The report could be a damaging one as Rose appeals his case for reinstatement with commissioner Rob Manfred.

On Thursday, Rose finally responded to the latest allegations on Fox Sports 1, with whom he currently works as an analyst:

Rose didn’t do much in the way of addressing the report, telling Chris Myers:

"“I applied for reinstatement in February, and when I applied for reinstatement, I promised the commissioner’s office that I would not comment on anything surrounding my case…and I’m going to keep my end of the bargain. I’m sure those questions will come about when I meet with the commissioner sometime in August, I hope, and we’ll address those.”"

The hit king did go into why he wants to be reinstated, saying that he wants to do it for his grandchildren, to be able to go into the Reds’ clubhouse to watch the team hit and “help players become better players.”

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The non-comments weren’t much of a surprise, but it was nice to see that Rose seemed sincere in saying that he made a mistake in betting on baseball and hopes to get a second chance. Whether or not that helps him in his meeting with Manfred remains to be seen.

However, I have to imagine the latest news will be a blow to his case for reinstatement, even if it didn’t come as a shock to anyone (we all knew the man bet on baseball, what difference does it make if it was as a player or a manager, especially if he never bet against his team?). But for a guy who’s been denied time and again in his bid for reinstatement, Rose needed to keep his image as squeaky clean as possible and the report could ultimately hurt him.

With that said, I do believe that Rose deserves to be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, at the very least. If you want to keep him from coaching, scouting, or whatever it is that Rose desires to do if reinstated, fine. But the man has served his time and he should be recognized for his esteemed career as a player.

I believe broadcaster Bob Costas put it well in his recent interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer, saying:

"“The idea that he can never be in the employ of baseball again, that he can never receive a dime from baseball, to be officially attached to baseball, makes sense. That’s the penalty. That’s the penalty. Other stuff just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.”"

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