A judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed Pete Rose’s defamation lawsuit against John Dowd for a 2015 radio interview in which he said that Rose had slept with underage girls in the 1970s.
Dowd is a former MLB special counsel who ran the 1989 investigation into Rose’s betting on games in the 1980s while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, according to The Sporting News.
Dowd said in the radio interview that former Rose associate Michael Bertolini told investigators “that not only did he run bets, but he ran young girls for him down in spring training, ages 12 to 14. Isn’t that lovely? So that’s statutory rape every time you do that,” The Sporting News reported.
Rose and Bertolini both denied the allegation and Rose sued Dowd last year in federal court in Eastern Pennsylvania. Dowd’s defense at one point filed a sworn statement by a woman who said she had sex with Rose before she turned 16, which is the age of consent in Ohio, the Sporting News reported. Rose admitted to the sexual relationship but said it began in 1975 when the girl was 16.
As a result of the reports, Fox fired Rose from his pre- and postgame broadcasting jobs, and the Philadelphia Phillies dropped plans to honor him at an event, ESPN reported.
Both Dowd and Rose agreed to the dropping of the lawsuit with prejudice, which means it can’t be brought again, The Sporting News reported.
Rose, 76, is permanently ineligible for any position in the MLB, and the Baseball Hall of Fame has denied him a spot there as well because of his gambling on games. He regularly signs autographs at a Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino shop and at other events, ESPN reported.
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