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Reinstate Pete Rose? Lawmakers seek state support

Chrissie Thompson
cthompson@usatoday.com

COLUMBUS -- State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-North Avondale, on Monday introduced a resolution calling on Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to reinstate Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose.

Pete Rose

State Rep. Christie Bryant Kuhns, D-Northside, said she and Toledo-area Democratic Rep. Michael Sheehy plan to introduce a similar resolution this week in the Ohio House.

The Hit King, banned from baseball after an investigation into gambling in 1989, last month asked MLB to reinstate him.

Thomas' resolution endorses Rose's request and calls on the Baseball Writers' Association of America and the National Baseball Hall of Fame to include Rose on their next Hall of Fame ballot.

If they pass, the resolutions would represent a formal recommendation from the Ohio Legislature. They wouldn't carry any legal weight with the MLB.

Cincinnati-area senators Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, and Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Township, signed on to Thomas' effort. Kuhns said her resolution's co-sponsors would include state representatives Louis "Bill" Blessing, R-Colerain Township; Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout; Jonathan Dever, R-Madeira; Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton Heights; and Alicia Reece, D-Bond Hill.

Cincinnati City Council this month passed a similar resolution, calling on Manfred to reinstate Rose.

Manfred has said he has no timetable for making a decision about Rose.