WWE Hall of Famer Pete Rose Will Not Be Honored at Phillies Alumni Weekend “Due to recent events”

Aug 2, 2017 - by Bill Fenbers

After statutory rape allegations against him, from the 1970s, became public on Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies have decided that WWE Hall of Famer Pete Rose will not be a part of the team’s “Alumni Weekend” festivities at Citizens Bank Park, being held August 10-13.  The Phillies are using “due to recent events” as the reason for Rose no longer participating.

Rose had been voted by fans to be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame, with a plaque commemorating his induction, on Saturday August 12th.  That ceremony has been cancelled, along with a Pete Rose bobblehead figurine giveaway, scheduled for Friday August 11th.  Fans with tickets to either the August 11th or August 12th game can exchange them or any remaining game on the 2017 schedule, or choose to receive a refund.  Exchanges or refunds must be processed by Sunday October 1st.

In 2004, Pete Rose was inducted into the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.  He made appearances at WrestleMania XIV, XV, & WrestleMania 2000.  He also appeared in a Halloween-themed commercial for WWE’s No Mercy pay-per-view, in 2002, and was the guest host of Monday Night RAW on March 22, 2010, six days before WrestleMania XXVI.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported this week that a sworn statement by an unidentified woman, contained in a motion filed in John Dowd’s defense against Rose’s defamation lawsuit, alleges that Rose had a sexual relationship with the woman for several years in the 1970s, beginning before she turned 16.

Pete Rose acknowledged he had a sexual relationship with the woman in court documents made public Monday, but he said his information and belief was that it started when she was 16, which is the legal age of consent in Ohio.  At the time, he was 34 years old, married and the father of two children in 1975, when he says he began having sex with the woman, referred to in the filing as “Jane Doe.”  Rose said he does not recall how long the relationship lasted.

The woman’s account does not raise the prospect of a criminal charge for Rose, as it is well past Ohio’s statute of limitations.  She said they also had sex outside of Ohio when she was 16 or younger, but she didn’t specify the states, and Rose said their sexual relationship was confined to Ohio.  In some states, such as Florida, the legal age of consent is 18.

Regarding the cancellation of his Phillies Wall of Fame Induction, Rose issued the following statement:

“While I am truly honored that the Phillies fans voted for me to be this year’s Wall of Fame inductee, I am concerned that other matters will overshadow the goodwill associated with Alumni Weekend, and I agree with the decision not to participate.”

SOURCES: ESPN.com, Phillies.com

 

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