Tomorrow is the winner-take-all primary in Ohio. The Republican winner will take home all of Ohio’s 66 delegates. One of the candidates picked up a huge endorsement on Sunday. Donald Trump tweeted out a photo of a baseball signed by Pete Rose Sunday night. This counts as Pete’s official endorsement for the Donald. Trump then tweeted that we should be getting Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame. Currently residing in the Buckeye State and an occasional attendee at Red’s games, I know Pete’s impact on the people of Ohio. This is huge for Trump as he tries to take down Ohio Governor John Kasich on his own turf. His plea is very unlikely to bare any fruit.
Rob Manfred denied Charlie Hustle’s plea for reinstatement in late 2015 and it is very unlikely he will be reinstated in his lifetime. In July 2015, a notebook produced evidence that Pete did indeed bet as a player. For 26 years Rose stuck by his story that he did not bet on baseball as a player. Yes, he did own up to betting in 2004, but he insisted it was only in his time as the Reds manager. In my opinion, the door is 100% shut on Rose’s admittance to the Hall. Most of America believes Rose should not gain entrance. Why did Trump pursue this then? Pure Politics.
What is going to get me the votes? This is how many politicians think. This makes sense, and I generally agree with the thinking, but I hate it in sports. Politics does nothing but hurt sports. Politics, especially in this day and age, alienate people and cause enough drama to make a Junior High on Valentine’s Day jealous. Sports are supposed to be a release from everyday society. I don’t want to be watching a ballgame and thinking about the batter’s politics at the same time. I realize my idea is not 100% feasible and politics will keep its hand in every market but can we tone it down a bit. Let’s take a spin off our third President’s famous quote and ‘thus building a wall between sports and state.’
Another example of politics interfering in sports is with Curt Schilling. I love Curt. His Game 6 performance at the 2004 ALCS is a top five Red Sox memory for me. Shil has publicly stated that he believes his conservative stance has kept him out of the Hall. He also recently said that current Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton ‘should be buried under a jail somewhere’. This has put him in the hottest of waters and his standing with employer ESPN is shaky. All his comments have done is polarized fans.
This article is very opinionated. Please note that all these opinions do not apply to all writers of the Crossover Report. If you have any comments please direct them to me and keep them civil.
RKelly
Afterthought: Let’s take a look at the list of athletes that have endorsed Trump.
Pete Rose – world-renowned gambler and cheater
Johnny Damon – traitor
Mike Tyson – ear biter
Terrell Owens – thinks he’s the hottest shit since sliced bread
Bob Knight – he coached at IU (Boiler Up)
Crossover Report 