Pete Rose is under a lifetime ban, which prevents him from participating in major-league baseball and from being considered for membership in the Hall of Fame. The current commissioner and his successors should make it clear to Rose that the ban will remain in effect as long as Rose lives.
They should also make clear to Rose that the decision to lift the ban after his death will depend on how he atones for the damage he did to the sport. Rose likes to gamble. Let him bet on himself by doing the right things for the rest of his life.
Rose will never know if he made the Hall of Fame; that seems an appropriate penalty for his actions and lies. More important, it spares us all the embarrassment of seeing him stand there at his own Hall of Fame induction, if there is one.
