Pete Rose to visit Miami for Lecture Series

Former Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose will visit campus this year as part of the 2015-16 Lecture Series. The discussion will be set up as a Q&A, and sports columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Paul Daugherty, will lead it. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 in Hall Auditorium.

The discussion is titled, "Winning is Everything: The Hit King talks Ethics in Sports." It will focus on Rose's time in the game, how he became a role model and the impact of his downfall: gambling on baseball.

"This is a big year for Pete," said Patricia Newberry, a member of the Lecture Series committee and journalism professor. "He was honored in the All-Star game, which was a very moving and emotional time for Cincinnati."

Rose spent 20 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) and it was during that time he rose to the top. In fact, most fans know Rose for his 4,256 career hits - a record that has not yet been matched. Among his achievements, he is second all time in regular season doubles, first in regular season singles and first in regular season games played.

During his career as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Rose was questioned for gambling on the game. After denying the allegations, evidence proved he was guilty, resulting in his permanent banishment from baseball and his chances of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He has applied for reinstatement many times, but has been denied. However, this year brings a new sense of hope with the arrival of MLB's 10th commissioner, Robert Manfred Jr.

Rose's visit to Miami has sparked the interest of students and faculty in Oxford.

"I'm excited because I think this is going to fill the auditorium. There is a large contention of Cincinnati kids on campus who probably grew up gong to Reds games and who feel that Pete Rose should be let in to the Hall of Fame," Newberry said. "The committee chose him for this reason. We want to bring in people that cover the current topics."

The mission of Lecture Series is to bring in someone who can offer learning from their life experiences.

"I think students, especially student-athletes, can learn a lot from Pete Rose," said sophomore Emma Jacky. "Even on major league scales we can take something away from athletes' life experiences. They have a lot of pressure on them from the media and fans, so it's important that they make wise decisions."

During the discussion, Daugherty will address Rose's baseball days, gambling history and where things currently stand. He will work to broaden the conversation to cover ethics in sports, and rather than focusing on Rose's performance on the field, he will be speaking to support a higher purpose of ethics in sports society.

"We are going to use sports as a metaphor for ethics in life," said Lana Kay Rosenberg, Lecture Committee chair and Kinesiology and Health professor.

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Daugherty will take a look at where the line is drawn in sports ethics. He will examine where the limit for media intervention exceeds, and when the personal lives of athletes should be left alone.

"The important thing to take away here is, yes we are talking about baseball, but we need to draw that analogy of this situation being bigger than itself," Rosenberg said. "It's not about betting on baseball. It's about life and the shortcuts we take."

Rose's speech is free and open to all, but tickets are required at entrance. Tickets will be distributed starting Sept. 16 at the box office in the Shriver Center.