Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, is banned from the sport for life because he bet on games.
Now, we all know that people who have done things much worse than gambling are still involved with Major League Baseball and are in or eligible for the Hall of Fame. We really don't need Rose to tell us that.
And we certainly don't need him to express it in the way he did during a recent interview on Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan.
"To be honest with you, I picked the wrong vice," Rose said. "I should have picked alcohol. I should have picked drugs or I should have picked beating up my wife or girlfriend because if you do those three, you get a second chance. They haven’t given too many gamblers a second chance in the world of baseball."
Obviously Rose is just trying to make a point. But maybe he could have phrased it a little better -- you know, in such a way as to not appear to be making light of such serious issues as substance abuse and domestic violence.
Rose, who spends much of his time these days signing autographs and talking baseball in Las Vegas, otherwise came across generally well during the interview.
"I made mistakes. I can’t whine about it. I’m the one that messed up and I’m paying the consequences," he said. "However, if I am given a second chance, I won’t need a third chance."
And if that happens and he is someday inducted in Cooperstown, N.Y., Rose said he'd be overjoyed.
"If I ever would make the Hall of Fame, I'd be the happiest guy in the world," he said. "But I don't want you to think when I go to bed at night I'm gonna pray I go to the Hall of Fame. ... When I go to bed at night, I'll pray I wake up tomorrow morning. That's where I am in my life right now."
:hump: 
