Serving his own ban for life, Pete Rose has some advice for Alex Rodriguez and everyone else suspended for their roles in the Biogenesis scandal: come clean.

"We have to get these people to understand that if you make mistakes, people will forgive you if you come forward," Rose told USA Today Sports. "Don't do like I did. Don't do like [Ryan] Braun did. Don't do like A-Rod did."

"I wish I had come forward a long time ago. Some guys came forward, like [Jason] Giambi, like [Andy] Pettitte. And they went on with their lives. They're playing and they're making good money, and there's no shadow upon them right now."

Rose, the all-time leader with 4,256 hits, has been banned from baseball since 1989 after it was learned he bet on the sport while serving as a manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

The 17-time All-Star said he hopes Rodriguez "has a good ending of the season," and he doesn't understand why people are upset with the New York Yankees slugger for playing during his appeal.

"It sounds to me like he thinks he got a lot more than Ryan Braun, and basically he might have done the same thing," Rose told USA Today Sports. "Baseball and the players' association have rules. If you stay within the rules -- which say that you can play while you're appealing -- I don't see what anyone would be in arms about."