The jury is still out on whether Pete Rose will ever be brought back into the MLB’s good graces and be allowed into the Hall of Fame. One thing that would assuredly keep that from happening was if Rose was found out to be a child predator, which is what attorney John Dowd accused him of in a July 13 radio interview that is just surfacing now.
Dowd, the man responsible for the investigation that got Pete Rose banned from baseball for gambling, made the claims in a radio interview with WCHE in West Chester, Pennsylvania, saying that a former Rose associate told Dowd that he “ran young girls for [Rose] down in spring training. Ages 12 to 14. Isn’t that lovely?” Adding later, in case that wasn’t clear: “So that’s statutory rape every time you do that.”
Those are some pretty serious allegations, and Rose, for his part, is vehemently denying them. He told NJ.com that he was “floored” by the allegations.
“Where was my family all of this time in spring training? I never went to spring training without my family except for first year when I was a rookie. It’s shocking.
“What level are they going to reach to next? What’s Dowd going to talk about next? Something from 50 years ago when I was 24 years old? I don’t know why anybody would believe that. It’s unbelievable. That’s the best one so far.”
Rose’s attorney Ray Genco told TMZ that the allegations were “malicious and untrue” and also said that a lawsuit is being considered.
Obviously if those allegations against Rose are proven to be true it would be a devastating blow to the all-time hit leader’s already dubious legacy. However, until there are more facts presented than just one loose accusation, especially by someone who has been so notoriously anti-Rose, it’s tough to put too much weight into Dowd’s claims.
(Via NJ.com)
