Phillies cancel Pete Rose wall of fame induction amid sex scandal

The Phillies will not enshrine Pete Rose on the team's wall of fame at Citizens Bank Ballpark this weekend, canceling the ceremony honoring baseball's all-time hits leader only days before it was scheduled to take place.

The team's announcement was prefaced with "Due to recent events …," an apparent reference to news this week, via court documents in Ohio, that Rose acknowledged having sex with a female who was younger than 16, though the former MLB star and manager claimed to believe she was of legal age at the time of the extramarital affair in the 1970s while he was with the Reds.

"Due to recent events, the Phillies and Pete Rose have decided Pete will not participate the Phillies Alumni Weekend festivities at Citizens Bank Ballpark," the team said in a statement.

Phillies fans had voted for Rose to be honored as part of the team's annual Alumni Weekend, despite the fact he is on MLB's permanently ineligible list and, thus, banned from Baseball Hall of Fame induction, for betting on baseball.

The wording of Rose's quote in Wednesday's news release appears to indicate that while the Phillies said the decision was made "with" Rose, it likely was a unilateral move on the team's part and he acquiesced.

"While I am truly honored that the Phillies fans voted for me to be this year's Wall of Fame inductee, I am concerned that other matters will overshadow the goodwill associated with Alumni Weekend," Rose said in the statement, "and I agree with the decision not to participate."

MORE:
Court documents allege Pete Rose committed statutory rape in '70s

The Rose bobblehead that was scheduled to be given away Friday will not be distributed, and in lieu of honoring Rose on Saturday, the Phillies will instead pay tribute to past wall of fame inductees.

Fans with tickets to Friday's or Saturday's games can exchange them for another 2017 game or get a refund, the team said.