Pete Rose, the all-time Major League Baseball hit leader, was banned from baseball in 1989 by then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti after an investigation found that he had bet on baseball games, including those involving his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, of which he was the player-manager at the time. The investigation, led by lawyer John Dowd, produced a report that alleged Rose had engaged in sports betting from 1985 through 1987.
While the Dowd Report did not explicitly state that Rose had bet against his own team, it did indicate that he had bet on baseball games, which was against Major League Baseball rules. Rose’s betting included bets on Reds games, but the report did not provide evidence that he had ever bet against his team to lose. Nonetheless, the mere act of betting on baseball games, especially those in which he was involved as a player-manager, was considered a severe violation of the integrity of the game.
Rose accepted a permanent place on baseball’s “Ineligible List,” which effectively banned him from the sport, although he has long maintained that he only bet on his own team to win. Despite his assertions and requests for reinstatement, as of my last update, Rose remains on the Ineligible List and has not been granted permission to return to Major League Baseball.