"I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988," the baseball great told ABCNEWS' Charles Gibson in an interview to be aired on Primetime Thursday on Jan. 8.
"That was my mistake, not coming clean a lot earlier," he said.
The only question in my mind is did he bet against his own team. I have yet to hear a good argument as to why a guy who bets on himself is a disgrace to the game.
Here are the weak arguments I've heard. . .
1) A man that bets with the mob may go into debt and have to throw games to pay his debt.
This is a better argument for making sports betting legal than anything else. Libertarian's are wondering why the government should have a say in what we do with our own money. And why give the mob an ability to make a living when those same jobs could go to legitimate businesses. Could it be that the government doesn't want competition on its lucrative lottery earnings?
If Rose was throwing games, lets throw him out. The Black Sox were actually throwing games. It's been hinted that even Ty Cobb conspired to throw a ballgame at the end of a season. The proof against Rose should be that he altered the outcome of a game. No one has yet claimed that.
2) On some nights Rose didn't bet on the Reds' games because he didn't like their chances as much. That's like betting against them. It also sent inside information to gamblers that Rose wasn't confident.
I actually heard someone on ESPN make this argument. I can't for the life of me figure out its significance. Was the reporter damning Rose for not betting on baseball everyday? And if you don't want the mob to have inside information legalize sports betting.
3) Rose betting on baseball is a bad influence on the nation as a whole and is a blight on baseball.
The real blight on baseball is treating cheaters and drug users better than gamblers. Sammy Sosa can use a corked bat and be suspended for a few days. He was actually cheating. Cheating alters the outcomes of games. Other players like Steve Howe and Darryl Strawberry are treated like victims for their drug abuse. Dock Ellis even pitched a no hitter on LSD. Illegal substances also alter the outcome of games. Numerous players are taking steroids and baseball is looking the other way and will offer scant punishment to those who test positive. That not only changes the outcome of games but tells kids that using these dangerous substances is the only way to gain an edge in sports.
We're teaching a nation of kids that cheating and doing drugs is a small thing but betting is the end of the world. It seems not only self- righteous but a good situational morality to blanket the real troubles that are happening in the game. We'll allow drugs and cheating, but we have no tollerance for a man that bets on himself to win.
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