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ESPN writer blasted for sick Pete Rose tribute

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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”

Passan’s unsympathetic column drew immediate backlash on social media:

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.

About the Author

Cory Templeman is an experienced writer and researcher who has worked with some of the biggest names in the publishing business. Cory lives in South Carolina with his wife and three kids.