In wake of the Astros sign-stealing scandal, Pete Rose has made another push to petition Major League Baseball’s commissioner Robert Manfred for reinstatement, according to a report by ESPN.
Rose’s last reinstatement request to Manfred was made in 2015.
This time, Rose sent a sent a 20-page petition where he argues that his lifetime ban is “disproportionately relative to other punishments imposed for serious violations that also undermined the integrity of the game."
In 1989, Rose was placed on MLB’s ineligible list for betting on baseball while he was coach of the Cincinnati Reds, according to the document. Because of the ban, Rose cannot work in the MLB and is ineligible to enter the MLB’s Hall of Fame, despite holding impressive records.
In 2004, Rose published the book “My Prison Without Bars,” in which he confessed to gambling on the Reds, according to History.com.
In the petition, Rose also requested an in-person meeting with counsel present and his illegibility to enter the Hall of Fame.
“Mr. Rose continues to express repentance for his acts in violation of Major League Rule 21. However, in recent years, intentional and covert acts by current and past owners, managers, coaches, and players altered the outcomes of numerous games, including the World Series, and illegally enhanced both team and player performance. It has never been suggested, let alone established, that any of Mr. Rose’s actions influenced the outcome of any game or the performance of any player. Yet for the thirty-first year and counting, he continues to suffer a punishment vastly disproportionate to those who have done just that," the petition says.
Read the full petition here.