Pete Rose sues former Akin Gump partner for radio show comments
Pete Rose in 2010. Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Pete Rose has sued the former Akin Gump partner who authored the report on Rose’s betting on baseball for comments the lawyer made on a radio show last year.
John Dowd, who retired from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in January 2015, is accused of defaming Rose by suggesting the baseball great was sexually involved with underage girls, report Law.com, the Cincinnati Enquirer, NJ.com and the Associated Press.
The interview occurred in July 2015 on WCHE 1520 AM. According to the suit (PDF), Dowd referred to Rose associate Michael Bertolini, identified in some press reports as Rose’s bookie, in response to a question about whether he found Rose to be a likable person. According to the suit, Dowd said:
“No. I’ve been asked that question—whether he had any moral bearings at all. And the answer is no. You know, there is a lot of other activity. He constantly violated the concept of laws. Michael Bertolini, you know, told us that he not only ran bets but he ran young girls for him down at spring training, ages 12 to 14. Isn’t that lovely? So that’s statutory rape every time you do that. So he’s not … he’s just not, you know, the kind of person that I find very attractive. He’s a street guy.”
Bertolini issued a statement after Dowd’s interview saying the allegation is false. Dowd told NJ.com last August that his comments had been “blown out of proportion.”
The suit claims Dowd has “openly advocated against Rose and his reinstatement” to Major League Baseball in the years after he issued his report, which said no evidence had been discovered that Rose bet against his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. In a June 23, 2015, radio interview, however, Dowd said he had evidence that Rose bet against the Reds, the suit says.
Rose is represented by Martin Garbus, described as a “legendary trial lawyer” by Law.com.
