Wednesday, February 09, 2000
Lawyer: Rose wants to be here
Would like to be part of ceremonies for '75 champs
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pete Rose's lawyer, Warren Greene, says Rose would like to attend the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Reds' 1975 World Championship.
Greene said Rose hasn't officially been invited to the June 3 ceremony.
“Pete's schedule is crazy with dual residences in Florida and California,” Greene said. “He has things scheduled all way into 2001. But he'd love to be there.”
Rose, who has been under a lifetime ban for gambling since 1989, did not return phone calls Tuesday.
Greene said he and Rose had discussed a similar situation after the Philadelphia Phillies invited Rose to the 20th anniversary of the Phils' 1980 world title.
“We told the Phillies that if Baseball would OK it,” Greene said, “Pete would be there. If he was allowed to participate in MasterCard's All-Century Team, why wouldn't he be allowed to do other events?”
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig makes a distinction.
“Obviously, this is a very sensitive subject, and a very misunderstood one,” Selig told The Enquirer on Monday. “But as things stand, there's been no change (in Rose's status). ... I did make an exception for the All-Century team, because fans were voting and I didn't want to do anything to stop that. But we said it was a one-time thing.”
Greene said one thing that may come into issue is the fact that Rose has a licensing agreement under which he's allowed to participate in group licensing.
“If you want to license something under the Big Red Machine, it wouldn't be fair to Johnny Bench or Tony Perez to exclude Rose,” Greene said.
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