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Comments to female reporter land Rose, Phils in hot water

Former Philadelphia Phillies great Pete Rose acknowledges the crowd during Alumni Day ceremony before game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Comments to female reporter land Pete Rose, Phillies in hot water

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/8/22

Suffice to say, it didn't take long for the internet to weigh in on the tone-deaf comments Pete Rose made over the weekend.

The former Philadelphia Phillies slugger was at Citizens Bank Park as part of a celebration of the 1980 World Series team — a ceremony that was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Because of sexual misconduct allegations that were levied against Rose in 2017, he was asked about the allegations that he had relations with underage girls. Rose responded to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Alex Coffey, "It was 55 years ago, babe."

Coffey chronicled the exchange on Twitter, laying out the cringe-inducing way Rose later promised to sign 1,000 baseballs for her in lieu of an apology.

When asked about our interaction earlier by @AP, Rose said: (1/2) "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...."
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 7, 2022

(2/2) "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."
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 7, 2022

Coffey's tweets quickly garnered a response from the Association for Women in Sports Media, who added that the Phillies made the wrong call in including Rose in the celebration.

#AWSM's statement regarding Pete Rose's response to criticism of his appearance with 1980 Phillies team: pic.twitter.com/BJwL3rhh4Q
— AWSM (@AWSM_SportMedia) August 7, 2022

The Phillies themselves are also receiving plenty of criticism for including Rose in the celebration at all. Following his exchange with Coffey, Rose was then allowed to be part of the Phillies' TV broadcast, where he used crude language and made more inappropriate comments.

Pete Rose tells the story about the time he hit a “cock-high fastball” because “no shit” pic.twitter.com/TyJhofu6em
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 7, 2022

The Phillies are usually so good at special events and celebrations. It’s stunning how poorly they handled the Pete Rose thing - first inviting him, then letting him talk to the press & most shockingly how they allowed him to spew obscenities during the TV broadcast.
— Glen Macnow (@RealGlenMacnow) August 8, 2022

The Phillies last month defended their decision to invite Rose to the ceremony, stating that Rose's former teammates thought he needed to be included. While the team hasn't issued a statement yet in light of his behavior on Sunday, it's likely it will.

This wasn't the first time Rose's behavior landed him in hot water, and it is sure to be far from the last. However, after the comments he made on Sunday, it will be very interesting to see what outlets give him a platform.

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