ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was characteristically fired up on Tuesday morning on First Take. This time it was during a discussion about MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose, who died on Monday.
Smith was furious about the way that MLB had treated Rose, saying, “Murderers have been let off quicker than Pete Rose has!”
Smith then went off on baseball for refusing to forgive or honor Rose, despite the fact that fans once gave him a standing ovation.
“People make mistakes,” said Smith. “MURDERERS have been let off quicker than Pete Rose has! And baseball want to sit up there with its high and mighty hypocritical self and literally denigrate this man. In 2016 he got a standing—I’m sorry, in 1999 he got a standing ovation. Remember that Doggie? In Atlanta during the World Series. Remember that? They gave him a standing ovation! The American public says buck all that! We want this man here! We know what he did for the game. We know he hurt himself. We know that wasn’t a good look, but it shouldn’t erase 23 years. And they did it anyway. Pox on all their damn houses. They better not make any mistakes. They better not make any mistakes! Don’t forgive them y’all. Don’t forgive anybody. Anybody in baseball who couldn’t forgive Pete Rose.”
“MURDERERS have been let off quicker than Pete Rose has.” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/ApGTDfBSJN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 1, 2024
Rose, who is MLB’s all-time hits leader, has multiple items in the Hall of Fame and is also openly recognized as MLB’s all-time hits leader.
