Playing Hardball: The Pete Rose–Jim Gray Controversy
Playing Hardball: The Pete Rose–Jim Gray Controversy
BEN SCOTT
The University of Colorado–Boulder
Author’s Note: In January 2004, in his second autobiography and subsequent book tour, Pete Rose admitted betting on baseball. In an interview with Barry Horn (2004) of the Dallas Morning News, Gray recalled the incident below, which resulted in intense scrutiny of his actions by his media peers and death threats against him that were investigated by the FBI.
“To this day, I can’t tell you why people line up to supportPete,” he told Horn. Even though Rose admitted betting on baseball, he and Gray continue to disagree over the events outlined below and whether Rose knew the betting questions were coming in the live interview. Rose has acknowledged that his answers to the questions were lies.
Shortly before game two of the 1999 World Series, the All-Century baseball team was introduced to a sellout crowd in Atlanta and a nationwide television audience. Pete Rose received the longest ovation. But unlike his fellow honorees, most of whom were in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pete Rose was not—he’d been banished from Major League Baseball for life for gambling on baseball while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Known as “Charlie Hustle” during his lengthy major league career, Rose collected more base hits than any player in history. In the decade since his banishment by Bart Giamatti, the former Ivy League university president turned commissioner of baseball, fans on both sides have debated his banishment. Rose has always adamantly denied that he bet on baseball. The appearance at the World Series game was Rose’s first appearance at a baseball game in more than 10 years.
After the on-field ceremony, Jim Gray, an Emmy Award–winning reporter for NBC, caught up with Rose and asked him for an interview before the live television audience. But instead of lauding Rose and welcoming him back to the game, Gray immediately grilled the legend about his refusal to admit any guilt regarding the gambling allegations.
Gray had earned acclaim for confronting Mike Tyson about his actions immediately after a 1997 fight in which Tyson bit off a chunk of his opponent’s ear. He has a reputation for standing up to star athletes and asking the tough questions. “Are you willing to show contrition, admit that you bet on baseball and make some sort of apology?” Gray asked Rose. “Not at all,” Rose replied. “I’m not going to admit something that didn’t happen.” Gray, who had interviewed Rose more than 50 times in the past, didn’t let the subject drop. He continued to badger Rose, stating that the evidence against him was overwhelming and added, “Some people say you are your own worst enemy.” Finally, Rose said, “Jim, I’m surprised you’re bombarding me like this on such a festive occasion.”
NBC switchboards across the country were immediately deluged with calls complaining about Gray’s interview, including 2 hours nonstop in Cincinnati, where Rose had played and coached. The majority of the callers felt that Rose had paid the price for his past troubles and should have been allowed to enjoy his moment of recognition as one of the game’s greatest. New York Yankee outfielder Darryl Strawberry, a player in the World Series game and a man who was no stranger to bad press and bad choices, said, “It was a night of celebration for Pete Rose. Every player who has ever played cares about Pete Rose. It was embarrassing.”
Yankee manager Joe Tore agreed. “For some reason, we’ve lost sight of the word ‘respect.’ We deal too much in shock value.” Yankee players decided to boycott Gray for the remainder of the Series. When Yankee outfielder Chad Curtis hit a game-winning home run in the next game, he made his feelings about Gray evident in a live postgame interview. “Because of what happened with Pete, we decided not to say anything,” Curtis told a live audience, leaving Gray to shout questions after him as he walked away. “It’s not a personal thing between me and Jim Gray,” Curtis said later. “It’s a thing the team decided.”
NBC was forced to move another reporter into Gray’s slot for the remainder of the Series. Despite the animosity of the fans and players, NBC still supported Gray and his interview. Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports, called Gray “the best sports reporter of his generation.” Despite the public sentiment, Gray refused to apologize. “I stand by it and think it was a proper line of questioning,” he said. He added that reporters had asked Rose the same questions at a press conference before the ceremony.
In a later interview with Sports Illustrated, Gray said he believed the forum for the questions was appropriate. “It was not overdone. Rose has put himself in a position to be pressed like that. Pete knew what was coming. I was trying to give him a window of opportunity to take his case to the public.”
The Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan criticized Gray, saying, “After two questions he should have realized it was going nowhere, that Rose would cling to the fiction that he did not bet on baseball as manager of the Cincinnati Reds” (Ryan 1999). Bob Raissman (1999) of the New York Daily News wrote, “It was just another case of a guy on TV, who is supposed to supplement the moment, trying to make himself bigger than the game.”
More than 50 sports editorials were written nationwide on the controversy, and the reaction to Gray’s conduct was evenly split among his print peers.
1