Pete Rose On A-Rod, PED Bans: Admit It And Be Forgiven
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Pete Rose admitted in 2004 to betting on baseball -- a transgression that earned him a lifetime ban from the sport -- after nearly 15 years of denials.
He says players wrapped up in scandal shouldn't follow his lead.
"We have to get these people to understand that if you make mistakes, people will forgive you if you come forward," Rose told USA Today on Tuesday. "Don't do like I did. Don't do like (Ryan) Braun did. Don't do like A-Rod did."
Major League Baseball suspended Yankees star Alex Rodriguez 211 games Monday for his connection to Biogenesis, the shuttered Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs. While he appeals, 12 other players will serve 50-game bans. Braun previously accepted a 65-game suspension.
A-Rod denied all ties to Biogenesis immediately after the scandal broke in January, but only pointed to the length of his suspension when pressed about the basis of his appeal Monday. He previously admitted to using PEDs while playing for the Texas Rangers.
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"I wish I had come forward a long time ago," Rose said. "Some guys came forward (for PEDs), like (Jason) Giambi, like (Andy) Pettitte. And they went on with their lives. They're playing and they're making good money, and there's no shadow upon them right now."
Rose finished his career with a record 4,256 hits. He was given permanent banishment by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 as manager of the Cincinnati Reds for betting on baseball, a charge he denied until '04. Rose maintains he never bet against his own team.
Rose said A-Rod was in "a tough position ... with this appeal and with the lawyers telling him to do this, and do that."
Rodriguez made his season debut Monday and will play for the Yankees until his case is decided in arbitration.
"I hope he has a good ending of the season," Rose said, "just for his sake -- just for peace of mind for him."
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