Rose death marks end of one of sports’ enduring storylines

The following article " Rose death marks end of one of sports’ enduring storylines " originally appeared on Sports Media Watch .

Pete Rose , whose banishment from baseball and subsequent quest to make the Hall of Fame was one of sports’ enduring storylines for more than three decades, died Monday at age 83. The all-time hit leader in Major League Baseball, Rose was banned for life in 1989 for betting on baseball games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.

The question of whether Rose should make the Hall of Fame has been a recurring debate since his banishment, even serving as the focus of an ESPN-broadcast mock trial in 2003 that included Hank Aaron as a witness, Johnnie Cochran arguing for the defense, Alan Dershowitz prosecuting the case and 90 minutes of jury deliberation.

He spent 15 years denying he bet on baseball, most notably during the 1999 World Series — when immediately following a pregame ceremony in which he was celebrated as a member of baseball’s all-century team (a rare honor during his banishment), NBC sideline reporter Jim Gray repeatedly asked him to admit his wrongdoing.

Gray’s aggressive questioning was deemed inappropriate for the otherwise festive moment, sparking a wave of national backlash that included a player ( Chad Curtis of the Yankees) snubbing him for a postgame interview.

When Rose finally admitted he bet on baseball in 2004, it was in a primetime ABC interview conducted by one of the network’s top anchors at the time, Charlie Gibson .

Rose never made the Hall of Fame, but he did reenter baseball’s mainstream as an MLB studio analyst for Fox Sports from 2015-16. His run in television was generally well-received, but ended after just two years once allegations surfaced that he had an improper relationship with a young girl in the 1970s.

Rose’s death Monday occurred on the same day as that of Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo , the widely beloved defensive anchor of the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks. Mutombo was 58 and had been suffering from brain cancer. It is rare for two Hall of Fame players to pass on the same day, much less two who are as well-known.

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