Pete Rose drew criticism Sunday for remarks he made at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Alumni Day game, regarding a past allegation that he had sex with a woman before she reached the age of consent.
A female reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer asked Rose about the allegation during a media availability in the dugout.
“No, I’m not here to talk about that,” Rose said, according to the Inquirer. “Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago, babe.
“Who cares what happened 50 years ago?” he added. “You weren’t even born. So you shouldn’t be talking about it, because you weren’t born. If you don’t know a damn thing about it, don’t talk about it.”
Rose later apologized to the reporter directly.
The all-time hits leader, who received a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball in 1989, also appeared on the Phillies’ TV broadcast during Sunday’s game and used foul language on several occasions, including in reference to announcer John Kruk having survived testicular cancer.
The 81-year-old was going to be inducted into the franchise’s Wall of Fame in 2017, but the ceremony was called off after sexual misconduct accusations against him emerged. Rose’s lawyer has denied claims that Rose approached a woman when she was 14 or 15 and initiated a secret, sexual relationship with her in Cincinnati.
Primarily remembered as a Cincinnati Red, Rose spent five seasons (1979-83) with the Phillies and was an All-Star four times in that span. He had a .291 batting average with 826 hits, 255 RBIs and 51 stolen bases during his time with the club.
Rose was a part of Philadelphia’s 1980 championship team, which was being honoured Sunday after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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