Articles Archive By Bob Gorsky WISHING I DIDN’T KNOW NOW WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW THEN I have to admit that the recent revelations of Pete Rose in his book about My Prison With Bars as well as his public comments corresponding with its release have left me “conflicted”. Baseball was the passion of my youth in the Buffalo, New York area and in my teenage years Pete Rose was one of my favorite players. I played second base, was smaller than most kids, and Rose was the player I tried to emulate, at least in terms of hustle and love for the game. I watched Rose go on to be one of the leaders of the “Big Red Machine” of the mid 1970’s and was thrilled with the opportunity to meet him at his Florida restaurant a few years after his retirement from baseball. When Rose’s trouble with baseball broke in the summer of 1989 and in years since, I held to the personal opinion that he belonged in the hall of fame despite his tax evasion troubles and damaged reputation. In my heart I probably believed he bet on baseball as the Dowd Report apparently concludes, but I haven’t read that report and Rose’s denials (including denials in his 1989 book Pete Rose: My Story) gave me reason to give him a benefit of the doubt on that charge and enabled me to plausibly deny in my mind that Pete Rose broke the cardinal rule of major league baseball when he bet on Cincinnati Reds games from 1985 to 1987, while he managed the team. Then came the new book and the admission that he lied, not only to baseball executives but to the public too. Over the past 14 years, he’s made a mission out of denying that he bet on baseball while declaring himself as the victim. Now that he’s no longer publicly denying the charges, he continues to play the victim blaming deceased baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti for reneging on a promise to offer no public opinion regarding Rose’s wagers, blaming his attention deficit disorder and blaming baseball and for not offering treatment to a gambling addict as it would a drug addict or alcoholic. Regarding whether he bet on baseball as a player, he has publicly stated that he cannot recall. His vague memory regarding something so significant raises yet another red flag. And as is often the case the lie is as bad or is in many ways worse than the underlying crime. Now with a $1 million book advance and time running out before his eligibility on the regular hall of fame ballot is to expire, he finds it timely to offer his defensive admissions. I want to recognize Pete Rose as the great player that he was, but I am struggling with the letdown I feel after Rose has come clean but with an arrogance that smacks of a person who placed book and merchandise sales over forgiveness. All of this leaves me with a feeling expressed best by singer Toby Keith when he sang: “I wish somehow I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.” _______________________________________________________ NEW LAW EXTENDS DEATH BENEFIT TO CORONARY INCIDENTS..... President Bush signed into law the Hometown Hero Survivor Benefits Act which extends federal death benefits to public safety officers, including police officers, fire fighters and other first responders who die of heart attacks or strokes in performance of their duties. The law creates a presumption that if a public safety officer dies as a result of a heart attack or stroke while engaged in a “non-routine stressful or strenuous” law enforcement activity, the death is presumed to have been sustained in the line of duty. The death benefit is currently set at $267,494. PAY LAWSUITS…. On February 4th at 2:00 p.m., the Dallas Court of Civil Appeals will hear arguments regarding the City of Dallas’ contention that the doctrine of sovereign immunity makes it immune from monetary damage claims. We do not know how long it will take for the appeals court to render a decision. This step of the litigation must be concluded before the cases can go to trial. _______________________________________________________ Bob Gorsky is a partner at the Dallas lawfirm of Lyon, Gorsky, Haring & Gilbert, L.L.P., 2501 Cedar Springs, Suite 750, Dallas, Texas 75201; (214) 965-0090 or e-mail Bob at: bgorsky@swbell.net. |