The Philadelphia Phillies are hosting their annual “Alumni Weekend” soon, and one player will be conspicuously absent.
The team announced Tuesday that Pete Rose no longer will attend the celebrations, which start Aug. 10 and run through Aug. 13, “due to recent events.” The former first baseman was set to be inducted to the Phillies’ Wall of Fame, and the team no longer will give out Pete Rose bobbleheads, either.
The “recent events” occurred Monday when an unnamed witness in John Dowd’s defense against Rose’s defamation lawsuit claimed she and Rose had a sexual relationship in 1975 before she turned 16, which qualifies as statutory rape in Ohio where they both lived. Rose didn’t come up with the best defense, either, as he acknowledged the sexual relationship but said he believed she was 16. Rose was 34 and married with two kids at the time.
Baseball fans used to want Major League Baseball to lift the Hall of Fame ban the Hit King received after betting on the game as a player, but it likely will be hard to find much support for Rose now.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
