Pete Rose, has now admitted that he bet on baseball during his time as the manager of the Cincinatti Reds.
I remember Rose’s case well – it was during a brief moment of time in my life where I read Sports Illustrated religiously. His was an interesting case – because of his prominence in the sport tarnished by such a rapid fall.
As Rose discovered, all actions have consequences. His gambling on baseball resulted in his lifetime banishment from the sport. And thus, he’s ineligible to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He’s applied for reinstatement and many have now taken up his cause.
I agree it’s a shame that he won’t be remembered as the Hall of Famer that he could have been – but his actions severely tarnished the reputation of the game, cast into doubt the result of the games in which he managed, and destroyed his own reputation.
He made the decision and now he needs to live with the consequences of that decision.