Pete Rose Dismisses Allegations of Sex with Minor: ‘It was 55 Years Ago, Babe’

Pete Rose
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

MLB legend Pete Rose got a bit vexed while he was in Philadelphia for the team’s 1980 World Champion celebration on Sunday when a reporter revived accusations that he had a sexual affair with a minor back in the 1970s.

During the press availability portion of the celebration of the Phillies’ big season, Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter Alex Coffey asked if his “presence” at the celebration sent a “negative message to women.”

Charlie Hustle, who was banned from Major League Baseball in 1989 over gambling charges, reportedly replied, “No, I’m not here to talk about that. Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago babe.”

Rose also offered a longer comment on the accusations, saying, “I’m going to tell you one more time. I’m here for the Philly fans. I’m here for my teammates. I’m here for the Phillies organization. And who cares what happened 50 years ago. 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.”

As the Inquirer’s Coffey noted, Rose admitted to having a sexual affair with a girl who he said was 16 when the affair started. 16 is Ohio’s age of consent and Rose claimed they never met for sex outside the Buckeye State.

The woman accuser, though, claimed she was only 14 when they met and disputed the location claim saying she met Rose for sexual encounters outside the state during the affair.

The Phillies had intended to induct Rose into its Hall of Fame, but those plans were canceled in light of the woman’s allegations.

The team also addressed the plan to include Rose in this weekend’s celebration back in July saying that team officials asked players and staffers if they had any problems inviting Rose for the celebration and were told that he deserved to be part of the event. And they also cleared the invite with the MLB ahead of time.

“In planning the 1980 reunion, we consulted with Pete’s teammates about his inclusion,” the Phillies said in a statement in July. “Everyone wants Pete to be part of the festivities since there would be no trophy in 1980 without him. In addition, the club received permission from the Commissioner’s Office in invite Pete as a member of the championship team.”

The team added that they understand that some may criticize including Rose in the celebration.

“We are not condoning, forgiving or forgetting Pete’s behavior,” a team spokesperson said. “We understand some people will criticize our decision to include Pete. We understand the basis of that criticism because it is precisely that basis which caused us to immediately rescind recognizing Pete on the Phillies Wall of Fame when the allegations were disclosed publicly only six days before Pete’s scheduled induction. The Wall of Fame is a singularly personal honor, and for the Phillies, his past off-field behavior undermines his baseball achievements which achievements would otherwise give rise to that award.”

Rose was a key member of the 1980 Phillies that went on to win the World Series against the Kansas City Royals in six games. Rose batted .291 with eight homers, 255 RBIs, and 390 runs scored during his five years with the team. And he still stands as Major League Baseball’s all-time hitter with 4,256 hits during his 24-year career between the Cincinnati Reds and the Phillies.

The renewed criticism of Rose brought much attention on social media:

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.