As the baseball world mourned the sudden death of Pete Rose earlier this week with heartfelt tributes and remembrances, one of ESPN’s biggest baseball names decided to go a different route and torch the baseball legend just hours after his death.
And folks are not happy about it.
Jeff Passan, ESPN’s main baseball insider, wrote an unsavory column about Rose, with a particularly damning headline about “Charlie Hustle” less that 24 hours after his death.
His column was titled: “Pete Rose has only himself to blame for tarnished MLB legacy”
Pete Rose died 24 hours ago
This has been written since then pic.twitter.com/bEZif93FbP
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) October 2, 2024
Passan’s unsympathetic column drew immediate backlash on social media:
A human passed away and Jeff Passan and ESPN publish an article the next day explaining everything wrong he did in his life was his own fault. Regardless who is at fault, this is a disgrace to Pete and his family. https://t.co/xAWc4jGMWt
— Ben (@BenDeatsman) October 1, 2024
Rose, of coruse, did have a complicated past involving gambling on baseball that did tarnish his legacy, which kept him out of the baseball Hall of Fame.
But even MLB brass, who led the efforts to keep Rose out of the Hall of Fame even up to his death took the high road.
Major League Baseball, which banished him in 1989, issued a brief statement expressing condolences and noting his “greatness, grit and determination on the field of play.” Reds principal owner and managing partner Bob Castellini said in a statement that Rose was “one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen” and added: “We must never forget what he accomplished.”
Passan could have taken a more sensitive approach to reporting on Rose’s death and legacy — like what Passan’s ESPN colleague Mike Greenberg did.
This was certainly a more eloquent — and human — way to approach Rose’s complicated legacy.
There has never been another player like Pete Rose in my lifetime. This is the way I will remember him, playing the game harder than anyone else ever did.
Few athletes will leave behind more complicated legacies. Today isn’t the day for that.
Today, let’s just say thanks to… pic.twitter.com/pXgnSZXUZg
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) September 30, 2024