Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz has been linked to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico, according to a report from USA Today.
The story also cited a March 10 news article from the island’s largest newspaper, El Nuevo Día, that “includes a photo showing Diaz standing in the pit of a cockfighting arena,” evidently during an off-day amid this spring’s World Baseball Classic.
While cockfighting is a centuries-old tradition in Puerto Rico, it was banned there when the United States federal government outlawed the practice in all of its territories in 2019.
Puerto Rican politicians initiallytried to defy the ban by adopting carve-outs in their own local laws, PBS reported in 2019. Local clubs, such as the one tied to Díaz, also filed lawsuits trying to get the federal restriction struck down, as noted in the USA Today story, though such challenges ultimately failed.
Still, cockfighting continues as part of the local culture.
The report cited a quote Díaz supposedly gave to El Nuevo Día in its March 10 article, with him saying of cockfighting: “It’s a pastime I’ve followed since I was a child. It’s legal in Puerto Rico, thank God. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
Both the Dodgers and a representative for Díaz did not respond to requests for comment from The California Post on Thursday.
In addition to Díaz –– a three-time All-Star closer who the Dodgers signed for $69 million this offseason, and is currently out injured after undergoing an elbow procedure last week –– USA Today reported that prominent horse jockeys and fellow Puerto Rican natives Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. were also tied to cockfighting on the island.
So too was Díaz’s younger brother, Alexis, another former All-Star reliever who spent part of last season with the Dodgers and is now with the Texas Rangers’ triple-A affiliate; as well as former MLB catcher Martín Maldonado.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
