ESPN's Stephen A. Smith delivered a fiery criticism of Major League Baseball following Pete Rose's death at 83, condemning the league's long-standing refusal to induct the all-time hits leader into the Hall of Fame.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith has voiced sharp criticism of Major League Baseball following the death of Rose, the league's all-time hits leader. Rose passed away on Monday at 83, according to reports by the Daily Caller.
Smith's comments came during the Tuesday broadcast of ESPN's "First Take," where he passionately denounced MLB's continued refusal to induct Rose into the Baseball Hall of Fame, saying: "Murderers have been let off quicker than Pete Rose has."
He also pointed to the standing ovation Rose received during the 1999 World Series, suggesting that public sentiment favored Rose's induction.
"The American people said [forget] all that! We want this man here. We know what he did for the game," Smith argued, referencing Rose's illegal betting, adding that Rose's actions, while damaging to himself, should not erase his 23-year playing career.
Rose's 4,256 career hits — an unbroken record — secured his place among baseball's elite players. However, his legacy has been tarnished since 1989, when he was banned for life from MLB after an investigation revealed he had placed illegal bets on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team. Rose and then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti reached an agreement in which Rose accepted a "lifetime ban" in exchange for MLB not officially confirming whether he bet on baseball, USA Today reported.
Giamatti passed away just one week after the agreement was signed, leaving Rose's Hall of Fame eligibility in limbo. Since then, three successive commissioners — Fay Vincent, Bud Selig, and Rob Manfred — have upheld the lifetime ban, preventing Rose from ever being considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Despite calls from fans and players for his inclusion, Rose remained ineligible.
Rose's exclusion from the Hall of Fame has long been a point of contention, with many fans and former players arguing that his accomplishments on the field should outweigh the mistakes he made off of it.
Former MLB All-Star José Canseco echoed this sentiment on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), writing, "RIP Pete Rose. Another player that should be in the [Hall of Fame] HOF."