A quote from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, pulled from the CNN coverage on the 17 players reinstated from their permanently ineligible status1Given how egregious elements of this decision are, it hardly feels worth nitpicking the nature of the phrase permanently ineligible as something that can be revoked.:
Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game.
This is not obvious to me.
With institutions of culture like MLB, each notable player is a symbol, an icon, representing something greater than themselves. Who the institution allows to represent them fundamentally describes their standards, ethics, and beliefs as an organization. By walking back names from the—ahem—permanently ineligible list, Manfred is himself compromising the integrity of the game and claiming the reason Rose was banned was solely as personal punishment to he man, rather than a level enforcement of rules against betting on baseball that, though indeed having the effect of punishing the individual, also acts as a clear signal that the actions are not tolerated in the least.
This is a discouraging and cowardly move by a commissioner who does not care about the impact of baseball as a cultural phenomenon and is willing to sacrifice its ethos for… what exactly?
- 1Given how egregious elements of this decision are, it hardly feels worth nitpicking the nature of the phrase permanently ineligible as something that can be revoked.