Stephen A. Smith sounds off after Pete Rose death: 'Murderers have been let off quicker'

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith had a lot to say Tuesday about Pete Rose , the late Cincinnati Reds legend, not entering the Baseball Hall of Fame before his death.

Despite being MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256, Rose, who was found dead Monday, was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling while serving as manager of his hometown Reds.

MLB's ban did not make him ineligible for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is independent from MLB. He is ineligible for the hall only because in the months leading up to what would have been his first year of eligibility, the Hall of Fame board voted for the first time to make anyone on MLB's permanently ineligible list, in turn, ineligible to be included for Hall of Fame consideration. Commissioner Rob Manfred has emphasized this nuance recently, pointing out that MLB has not banned Rose from the Hall of Fame.

"A pox on all the damn houses of all of those Pete Rose critics; I can't stand y'all. Y'all make me sick," Smith said on the Oct. 1 episode of "First Take."

"This is the all-time hits leader. ... What we're talking about that he's been banned from baseball is him betting to win on his own team as their manager. Because of what he did as a manager, they tried to erase 23 years of commitment, of excellence."

Smith questioned why the Reds could induct Rose into their Hall of Fame and why the Philadelphia Phillies could honor him in 2022 while celebrating their 1980 World Series-winning team, but Rose still couldn't enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Who the hell do they think they are?" Smith said. "And to watch the American public let these hypocrites get away with literally trying to eradicate and erase him from our memory, knowing they profited off him. ... In this country, when we talk about the land of second chances, and you talk about forgiveness, and you're talking about people make mistakes: Murderers have been let off quicker than Pete Rose has. And baseball wants to sit up there with its high and mighty hypocritical selves and literally denigrate this man."

Rose, 83, was found dead at his home Monday in Clark County, Nevada, according to officials there. He died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with significant diabetes mellitus, per Melanie Rouse, Coroner for the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner.

While being put on a permanently ineligible list from baseball, Rose was able to apply for reinstatement. However, his applications were always denied.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Stephen A. Smith sounds off after Pete Rose death: 'Murderers have been let off quicker'