Rose Says He’s Great as a Father

Pete Rose today again denied comment on reports about his alleged gambling, but he did respond to a magazine article that described him as a bad father.

“What are you talking about? I’m a great father,” Rose said. “I bought my daughter a Mercedes Benz last year.”

Rose made the comment before the Reds’ exhibition game with the St. Louis Cardinals in Plant City, Fla.

In two days since major league baseball announced Rose is under investigation, the Cincinnati Reds manager has become the eye of a storm of allegations about his gambling, his finances and his parenting.

The most serious allegations, contained in this week’s Sports Illustrated, could drive Rose from the game if proven accurate. The magazine reported in this week’s issue that Rose is accused of betting on baseball and could be banned from the game if the charge is proven during an investigation being conducted by the office of baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. (Story, Part III, Page 1.)

And Gentlemen’s Quarterly printed an article in which Rose’s children say he was a poor parent, and his former wife is quoted as saying Rose didn’t pay his gambling debts--a statement she later denied.

The Dayton Daily News reported today that Rose is selling off his baseball memorabilia, and is under investigation by federal authorities in Cincinnati looking into his gambling and taxes.

When a reporter today noted that Rose customarily avoids saying “no comment,” the manager replied, “I’ve never used ‘no comment,’ but you have to agree it’s a little different situation.”