Immediately after last night's pregame ceremony
honoring MLB's All-Century Team, NBC's Jim Gray interviewed
team member Pete Rose and asked Rose if he was ready to
"admit that [he] bet on baseball and make some sort of an
apology." Rose: "Not at all, Jim, not at all. I'm not
going to admit something that didn't happen." Gray: "With
the overwhelming evidence that is in that report, why not
make that step with this opening?" Rose: "This is too much
of a festive night to worry about that because I don't know
what evidence you're talking about. Show it to me." After
persistent questioning by Gray, Rose said, "I'm surprised
you're bombarding me like this. I mean, I'm doing an
interview with you on a great night, a great occasion. ...
Everybody seems to be in a good mood and you're bringing up
something that happened ten years ago." Gray: "I bring it
up because I think people would like to see you get it on."
Rose: "This is a prosecutor's brief, it's not an interview
and I'm very surprised at you. I am, really." Gray: "Well,
some would be surprised that you didn't take the opportunity
[to explain yourself]" (NBC, 10/24). Gray admitted to the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION's Prentis Rogers that the interview
"felt confrontational." Gray: "But all of these questions
are questions Rose has heard for 10 years. It was an
opportunity for Rose to make his case. It's a shame that's
the direction it went" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/25). NBC
Sports VP/Information Ed Markey: "Jim's whole objective was
to give Pete Rose an opportunity to break through and shed
some new light on his issues" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/25).
DID GRAY GO TOO FAR? In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes that
Gray was "excessively confrontational, perhaps even self-
promotional." Mushnick: "Gray jumped [Rose]. And he jumped
him in such a fashion as to appear more interested in
promoting Jim Gray, Star Reporter, than interviewing Pete
Rose on the occasion of his one-night-only return to
baseball" (N.Y. POST, 10/25). Also in N.Y., Richard
Sandomir writes that Gray "trampled the line of civility in
his interview." His "cannonade of questioning ... sounded
like a grand jury criminal proceeding, not a pregame show."
Sandomir adds that Gray's "overzealousnees let Rose take the
high ground," and MSNBC's Web site baseball bulletin board
"was filled with angry responses from viewers who were
critical of Gray" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25). Also in N.Y., Bob
Raissman: "Did Gray -- and NBC Sports -- think getting Rose
to issue a mea culpa was worth tarnishing one of the most
moving moments in baseball history? ... The result was an
embarrassing exercise in excess. Gray came off as a guy who
was looking to enhance his own reputation as an
interrogator, rather than an interviewer with any sense of
fairness or appreciation for the circumstances surrounding
the interview." Raissman concludes, "It was sad. Sad and
shameful" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/25). NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay:
"Gray's confrontational interview unnerved Rose, bordered on
grandstanding and sparked immediate and emotional reaction
from fans." Gray "appeared determined, almost with an
agenda, to get Rose to apologize for his sins on national"
TV (NEWSDAY, 10/25). In Toronto, Rob Longley: "Rose accused
Gray of an ambush. He may have had a point. ... Gray had to
ask the [gambling] question, of course, but probably could
have used more tact, especially given the timing" (TORONTO
SUN, 10/25). In Boston, Jim Baker: "The confrontation was
so ill-timed and mean-spirited it may have prompted a flood
of sympathy for Rose and boomeranged on NBC." WBZ-TV sports
anchor Bob Lobel: "It was so bad, it may have been a career-
ender for Gray. Even Howard Cosell at his worst wasn't that
bad. You felt uncomfortable watching it" (BOSTON HERALD,
10/25). On "Imus In The Morning," Mike Lupica said, "I like
Jim Gray. He's been my friend for a long time. ... [But] he
went over the line last night." Imus, on Gray: "I've never
liked him" ("Imus," 10/25). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth writes
that NBC "should have insisted they just cut [the interview]
short, because the two were just killing the mood" of the
event (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/25). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
writes that the interview "put a damper on the night ... and
Gray might have pressed Rose too long" (USA TODAY, 10/25).
In Philadelphia, Jayson Stark writes that after the
interview, the "early line in Vegas was that there were many
more Americans in [Rose's] corner than in Jim Gray's"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/25). In Denver, Mike Littwin
writes that Gray "came off looking nasty" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN
NEWS, 10/25). In Philadelphia, Bill Conlin calls Gray NBC's
"network prosecutor" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/25).
WMAQ-NBC in Chicago was "flooded" with viewer complaints
about Gray. WMAQ Sports Producer David Gay: "We've had
quite a few calls. People are upset" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/25).
WNBC-N.Y. said operators "fielded more than 600 complaints."
NBC affil WLWT-Cincinnati got "calls nonstop for two hours
after the interview" (AP, 10/25).
KUDOS FOR JIM: In Houston, David Barron: "It was a sad,
unfortunate exchange, but NBC viewers were more ill-served
by Rose's attitude than by Gray's questions, uncomfortable
though they might have been" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/25). In
Toronto, Chris Zelkovich calls Gray's interview a "rare, if
uncomfortable, accomplishment in sports broadcasting. Hats
off to Gray for seizing the moment" (TORONTO STAR, 10/25).
SOME PLAYERS UPSET AT QUESTIONS: Yankees RF Paul
O'Neill: "I was absolutely embarrassed of the questions
(Gray) asked of him. A lot of people were" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 10/25). Yankees C Jim Leyritz: "To come off the
field and have that question asked is barbaric. It's
disgraceful. The whole ballclub was angry" (AP, 10/25).
