For the first time in 21 years on Saturday night, Pete Rose was allowed to grace a Cincinnati Red’s field to honor the 25th anniversary of his record breaking 4,192nd hit.
Meanwhile, Saints running back Reggie Bush awaits judgment by the Heisman Trust over his transgressions at USC.
Where does Rose, who earned every hit he had without the help of needles, balms, or oils, fit on the list of baseball’s greatest cheats?
Where can we rank Bush, in danger of becoming the first player in the 75-year history of the Heisman to have the award revoked, among other tarnished gridiron collegians?
The purity of what both Rose and Bush accomplished between the lines cannot be overstated.
Many villains from the steroid era will surely be forgiven and enshrined into Cooperstown one day. I’m also sure the Heisman immortalities of other troubled trophy winners, such as OJ Simpson and Billy Cannon, will remain safe.
Yet Rose, over two decades after his banishment, is miles away from acceptance back into baseball nation. And Bush, already erased from a USC legacy he helped build, is closer to being stripped of his prize with each passing day.
Where does the hypocrisy end?
