Rose filed a defamation suit against attorney John M. Dowd in July 2016, after Dowd had alleged in a radio interview the previous summer that Rose had engaged in statutory rape. A court document during the suit was released in July 2017 with a sworn statement alleging Rose had engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. In light of these new allegations, the Phillies cancelled his upcoming Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame ceremony. On December 15, 2017, a judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit when both parties reached an agreement.