Seriously? You mean as a player? Because surely you don't see betting against the team you are managing as "not cheating". All the Pete Rose fanboys will say he only bet on them to win, but the evidence is clear to the contrary and that's why he chose the ban. He didn't want the truth to come out.
Pete placed his bets at a small pool hall and tavern in a very tiny town that I grew up in Franklin, OH. So people knew he frequented there. The IRS agent that took down Pete was the chief of security for a company I worked for 10 years after he retired from the IRS. Leo Rolfes was his name and he told me some great stories about the evidence, people that turned on Pete to save their own ass, etc.
And you said he chose to be banned than to have all the evidence come out... well it has come out. He chose the ban because he felt he disgraced the sport he loved passionately more than anything else in his life.
And cheating? It would be cheating if he won his bets. Pete was a horrible gambler who lost more than he bet. Gamblers never win in the end because they can't stop. And Pete was no different. Pete lost more than he ever won and he didn't need to gamble for the money, he did it for the adrenaline. That's why all problem gamblers do it. Not for the money.
I've spent time with Pete. The employer I mentioned above, the owner was good friends with Pete among other Cincinnati area sports stars. Pete often came in and hung out, ate lunch with us and signed balls and bats. I have a few at home still. I was fortunate enough to be the guy that got to pick him up from the airport when he'd fly in. He was crass, foul mouthed, perverted and ornery, but he loved the game and still loves it more than anyone I could imagine.
