Alabama football has made it a habit under Nick Saban to bring in guest speakers. Whether it be celebrities, professional athletes, or even former mobsters. The series has led to some legendary and complicated figures appearing in Tuscaloosa.
This week, after being flown in on a jet from the Crimson Tide Foundation, it was Pete Rose’s turn. Major League Baseball’s all-time hit leader discussed his “competitive spirit” in his appearance with the team, according to Tide head coach Nick Saban.
“It’s fascinating,” Saban said, “(Rose) was, in his own admission, he was not the most talented guy, but Charlie Hustle, man. That guy was something else when it came to competitive spirit and how he went about doing what he did to play at a high level for so long.”
While many assumed Rose would speak to the 2023 Tide football team about gambling — especially considering the spring firing of Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon —, Rose kept it about competitiveness. Per Saban, Rose opted to make a joke about the person who asked a gambling question.
“I don’t know how to answer that, but he did call the guy that asked the question, in a very funny way, a name,” Saban responded when asked if Rose discussed problematic elements of his past, “a name that I will not repeat it and everybody laughed. But I won’t call you that name.
“He said he made a mistake. He should have never done it and it was bad judgment on his part. He was very much in admitting, but he also talked about winning. And he said he never gambled on his team doing anything but winning because he believed in his players. He trusted his players. He loved his players. So that’s how he answered the question. So I’m paraphrasing what he said. You asked the question, I’m giving you the answer. But I’m leaving out one part because he had some kind words for the person who asked it.”
Saban told the media on Sunday that said speakers are brought in to “address issues that we’re facing in college football as well as people.”
“You guys know what the issues are. If you look at the players that are suspended for whether it’s gambling, drugs and alcohol, whatever. So those are all things that we’re trying to educate our players on relative to consequences of good and bad behavior, cause and effect, because we don’t want anybody to suffer negative consequences that might impact and affect their brand. And that all goes to the choices and decisions that they make. And if we can impact those through education with good speakers, that’s the goal of what we try to do throughout the year.”
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MLB issued Rose a lifetime ban in 1989 for betting on games while he was a player and manager with the Cincinnati Reds. Rose later admitted it. The ban has been repeatedly upheld by subsequent Commissioners. But Rose has another incident in his past that he could’ve addressed with the Tide.
Rose’s return to a major league field was set to be in 2017 as the Philadelphia Phillies honored the 1980 World Series championship roster, Rose among them. But the event was delayed to August 2022 when the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN reported testimony from a federal defamation case in which an unidentified woman provided a sworn statement alleging she and Rose had a sexual relationship in the 1970s while she was a minor.
Rose confirmed the relationship in court, but his attorneys argued the woman, referred to as “Jane Doe,” was 16 years old when it began and therefore compliant with the age of consent in Ohio. Rose was a 34-year-old father of two in 1975, the year he said he started having sex with Jane Doe, per ESPN.
The allegation was first made by John Dowd, who claimed to have heard the information while investigating the gambling accusations against Rose in the 1980s. Rose sued Dowd for defamation, but eventually dropped the suit.
When Rose was asked by reporters about the allegation in Philadelphia, he responded: “I’m here for the Philly organization and who cares what happened 50 years ago. You weren’t even born. So, you shouldn’t be talking about it, because you weren’t born. If you don’t know a damn thing about it, don’t talk about it.”
The extent to which Rose discussed his gambling controversy and sexual misconduct allegations with Alabama is unclear. But neither appeared to be a major subject of Rose’s talk.
“I think it was good for our players to hear. They really enjoyed it. (Rose) had a great sense of humor, so. And (motivational speaker C.L. Shepherd) was all about being a man. I think some good things happened from that standpoint in helping our guys develop the right habits,” Saban said.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].