Pete Rose’s Baseball Gambling Admission and Its Rhetorical Implications
Steve Eichmann

Abstract
When Pete Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on baseball, he faced an immensely steep uphill battle for his reinstatement. For years following the banishment, Rose continued to deny that he ever once bet on baseball, saying that these were false allegations. Hoping that the powers that be would eventually believe him, Rose continued his denial until 2004, when he decided to come clean. In a tell-all book released that year, Rose admitted to betting on baseball and even on the team that he managed, the Cincinnati Reds. Rose felt that by telling the truth after lying all of those years that baseball and its fans would immediately forgive him and it would restart his entry back into baseball again. However, the rhetorical implications of Rose finally admitting to betting on baseball have been steep and have left many wondering whether the rhetoric was effective or not.

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