Pete
Rose: All-Whiner?
Race
& The Media
Imagine interviewing
Noah without bringing up the flood.
Baseball sports fans apparently expected that of
NBC news reporter Jim Gray when he interviewed Pete Rose.
Before the second game of the World Series, Gray
interviewed Pete Rose, a member of the so-called "All-Century"
baseball team. At the ceremony, Rose received the longest ovation—astonishing
given that former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti suspended Rose
for life following a finding that Rose gambled on baseball. And the
ceremony took place in Atlanta, the town of "All-Century"
honoree and all-time homerun leader Hank Aaron!
But Rose’s unwarranted ovation did not become the
lead story. Fans nationwide became irate because Gray asked Rose about
his suspension from baseball, whether he might now admit and apologize
for gambling, presumably paving the way for Rose’s long-desired admission
into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Gray asked firm, fair and even questions. Rose possessed
a few options here. He could have refused an interview, or granted one
with conditions. But characteristically, Rose denied all. He even said,
"What evidence?" when Gray suggested that the case against
Rose appeared overwhelming. At one point during the interview, Rose
complained about the aggressive questioning, and felt the occasion an
inappropriate time and place for this line of inquiry.
Let’s review. Rose himself applied for reinstatement
in 1997, and routinely complains over his failure to get into the Hall
of Fame. Mother Teresa, he ain’t. The former baseball commissioner
compiled a 238-page report, which Rose signed, detailing Rose’s
gambling. The report included ten witnesses, betting slips with Rose’s
fingerprints, as well as phone records indicating Rose spoke with bookies
while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Strong stuff, and a clear violation
of baseball’s Rule 21, forbidding gambling.
Pete Rose, victim? Remember when Rose, at a meaningless
All-Star game, crashed into promising Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse, effectively
ending Fosse’s career? And during his pursuit of DiMaggio’s consecutive
hit record, Rose complained about the pitcher who stopped him at 44
games. Cried Rose, the guy pitched against him like the "seventh
game of the World Series."
Maybe someday a biographer will interview Bill Clinton
without asking about impeachment. And maybe someday a biographer will
sit down with Charles Manson, and not ask about the Tate/La Bianca murders.
Maybe somebody will write a biography about Richard Nixon without going
into Watergate.
But poor Jim Gray. The anger from fans and players
seemed to multiply by the hour. After first refusing, Gray soon publicly
apologized, "If the fans felt the interview went on too long, particularly
on a night of special celebration, then I am sorry for that." Gray’s
reward for his act of contrition? New York Yankee Chad Curtis, who hit
a game-winning homerun in game three, refused to allow Gray an interview,
snubbing him on national television. "I can’t do it," said
Curtis, meaning submit to an interview with a low-life like Gray.
Are these the same born-again moralist ball players
who have no problem playing side-by-side with people like Steve Howe
and Darryl Strawberry, both suspended numerous times for substance abuse?
Remember the silence from the NBA players when Latrell Spreewell attempted
to choke his coach? And a few years ago, baseball’s strike replacement
players endured often abusive treatment by ball players. But in Gray’s
case, righteous indignation!
Some say Gray bushwhacked Rose just to make a
name for himself. No. Gray attempted to allow Rose a platform with which
to rehabilitate himself. He wanted Rose to acknowledge and apologize
for his mistake, clearing the way for Rose’s inclusion into the Hall.
So indict Gray, but only for the crime of being a fan, a supporter and
even a cheerleader.
Years ago, on the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s
breaking the color line, "Nightline’s" Ted Koppel "cornered"
former Dodger General Manager Al Campanis. Koppel asked Campanis to
explain the lack of black baseball managers. Campanis, a last minute
replacement for another guest, seemed surprised and gave a fumbling
answer. The Dodgers fired him. Was Jim Gray’s inquiry of Rose less appropriate,
given the occasion, than Koppel’s cross-examination of Campanis? Yet
few complained about Koppel. Many now call for Jim Gray’s head.
When a ball player commits an error, do his colleagues
want him canned? Why can’t the pro-Rosies just call Gray’s action an
"error"? But when a Chad Curtis refuses to submit to a Jim
Gray interview, this could ruin Gray’s career. Does Gray’s "crime"
deserve this punishment?
Even as Gray apologized to the fans, he said,
"I stand by [the interview]. It was the absolute right line of
questioning. Pete ruined his own evening. I did my job." Indeed.
Finally, we ask, as between Pete Rose and Jim
Gray, at least on this night in question, who truly earned the title,
"Charlie Hustle"?
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