Scandal keeps Pete Rose from Phillies Wall of Fame

New scandal keeps Pete Rose from Phillies honor

The Philadelphia Phillies have cancelled their planned honoring of former star player Pete Rose with a place on the team’s Wall of Fame. 

Rose will also no longer participate in activities surrounding the team’s upcoming Alumni Weekend from August 11-14.

The cancellation has nothing to do with past controversies surrounding Rose’s gambling problems. Those well publicized issues got him suspended by Major League Baseball, and have kept him from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Instead, Rose will not be honored by the Phillies – at least not at this time – due to allegations of possible statutory rape and possible pedophilia. The alleged incidents were committed four decades ago during his playing career.

These new and scandalous allegations emerged on Monday from court documents filed as part of a law suit. Rose filed the suit a year ago against John Dowd, an attorney who authored the primary document which resulted in Rose’s banishment from baseball in 1989.

As part of Dowd’s defense against the lawsuit, a sworn statement was given by a woman. Described only as “Jane Doe”, she claims to have engaged in a sexual relationship with Rose. This occurred during the 1970’s, and allegedly began before she had turned age 16.

Time for MLB to Lift the Ban on Pete Rose

Pete Rose' punishment was never intended as a lifetime ban

Philadelphia Phillies fans who were around to enjoy the emergence of the team as a contender in the 2nd half of the 1970′s know the story well. Despite being contenders every season since 1975. 

Despite 3 straight N.L. East crowns. Despite franchise record-setting, back-to-back seasons of 101 victories in both 1977 and 1978, the Fightin’ Phils of Schmidt, Carlton, McGraw, Luzinski, Bowa, Boone, Maddox, et al simply could not win “the big one” in the post-season.

That team was clearly missing two ingredients. A manager who wasn’t afraid to tell them when they were playing like horsebleep, and wasn’t afraid to sit veterans on the bench for a couple of games in favor of younger players was one. And the other was a no-doubt-about-it locker room leader. A proven winner. Someone who had been over the hump in the post-season, knew what it took, and was fearless in voicing their opinion to other veterans during the difficult times that any team will inevitably face, no matter how much talent they possess.