In Philadelphia on Sunday to celebrate the 1980 world champions, Rose declined to address the issue. “No, I’m not here to talk about it. Sorry for that. That was 55 years ago, baby,” he told Philadelphia Inquirer Phillies writer Alex Coffey. The 81-year-old, 17-time All-Star, who was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the sport from 1985-87, did not answer further questions. However, the Phillies were going to honor him in 2017 and induct him into their Wall of Fame before the allegations surfaced. A woman identified as Jane Doe claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Rose when she was 14 or 15 years old in 1973. He was married at the time with two children. His lawyer said the charges have not been verified. Pete Rose acknowledges the crowd Sunday at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies honored their 1980 World Series team. USA TODAY Sports In 2017, Rose admitted to having a relationship with the woman but said she was 16, the legal age of consent in Ohio. He said they had no sexual contact outside of Ohio, contradicting the accuser’s account. After Sunday’s ceremony honoring the 1980 team, The Associated Press asked Rose about his interaction with Coffey. “I’ll tell you one more time. I’m here for Philly fans. I’m here for my teammates. I’m here for the Phillies organization,” Rose said, according to the Inquirer. “And who cares what happened 50 years ago. You weren’t even born. So you shouldn’t talk about it, because you weren’t born. If you don’t know anything about it, don’t talk about it.” Pete Rose during the 1980 Phillies World Series ceremony on Sunday. Getty Images Coffey reported that a representative for Rose later approached her and apologized on Rose’s behalf. Then Rose joked to her, “Would you forgive me if I signed 1,000 baseballs?” before saying “sorry”. The Phillies defended Rose’s inclusion in this final ceremony. “In planning the 1980 reunion, we consulted with Pete’s teammates about his inclusion,” the team previously said in a statement. “Everyone wants Pete to be part of the celebrations as there would have been no trophy in 1980 without him. In addition, the club received permission from the Commissioner’s Office to invite Pete as a member of the championship team.”
