Rose, who played for the Phillies from 1979 to 1983 and helped the team win its first World Series title in 1980, was set to join the Phillies Wall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 12 before the game against the New York Mets. However, in light of the recent allegations, the Phillies released a statement along with Rose announcing essentially the cancellation of those Wall of Fame festivities.
Rose said in the statement, "While I am truly honored that the Phillies fans voted for me to be this year's Wall of Fame inductee, I am concerned that other matters will overshadow the goodwill associated with Alumni Weekend, and I agree with the decision not to participate."
The Wall of Fame festivities were set to highlight the annual Phillies Alumni Weekend.
The Phillies also announced in the statement that the club will not distribute the Pete Rose bobble figurine giveaway on Friday, August 11.
On Monday, a woman filed a sworn statement in federal court indicating Rose had a sexual relationship with her before she turned 16.
“In 1973, when I was 14 or 15 years old, I received a phone call from Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds,” the woman—identified as “Jane Doe”—said in the filing. “Sometime after that, Pete Rose and I began meeting at a house in Cincinnati. … It was at that house where, before my sixteenth birthday, Pete Rose began a sexual relationship with me. This sexual relationship lasted for several years. Pete Rose also met me in locations outside of Ohio where we had sex.”
The statement was filed as part of a defamation lawsuit Rose filed against John Dowd, the lawyer who prepared a report into Rose’s gambling on baseball in 1989.
Rose is banned from having a job in baseball for life after betting on the sport, including his team's games, while manager of the Reds. He currently works as a Major League Baseball analyst for Fox.
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