It looks like Dodgers' closer Edwin Diaz is in some big trouble here.
Diaz, along with other sports stars, is being investigated for ties to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico. Diaz claims that it's legal back home in PR.
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Can I get an "oof"?
Here's USA Today with deets on the jockeys who are also involved in the illegal gambling considered to be animal cruelty.
Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr., among the top jockeys in horse racing and brothers from Puerto Rico, dueled in a thrilling finish at the Kentucky Derby almost two weeks ago. Their Triple Crown run continues this weekend with potential scrutiny.
With the Ortiz brothers set to ride May 16 in the Preakness Stakes, photos found by USA TODAY Sports on social media appear to link Jose Ortiz, 32, and Irad Ortiz Jr., 33, to illegal cockfighting.
The discovery of the photos comes almost six months after a video posted on X appears to show Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz collecting money off the pit floor from the betting crowd in Club Gallistico de Naguabo, a cockfighting club in Puerto Rico.
Sounds like the bros have been hard at work.
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And Diaz really goofed, wearing his Dodgers uniform in an advertisement for the cockfights.
Edwin Diaz, a three-time All-Star pitcher now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is linked to cockfighting events in Puerto Rico based on photos found by USA TODAY Sports on social media. Diaz is pictured in a Dodgers uniform in a Facebook post dated Feb. 2 and a Facebook post dated Feb. 4 advertising cockfighting tournaments.
Text in one of the ads, translated into English, reads, 'The Puerto Rico Cockfighting Club invites all enthusiasts to a special match and a grand tribute to one of our island's greatest sources of pride: A Tribute to the Puerto Rican Star and Cockfighter Edwin "Sugar" Díaz.'
The wildest part of the story is that cockfighting is such a huge part of Puerto Rican culture that even though the United States banned the practice in all 50 states and all US territories, the fights have continued unabated in the island territory.
Diaz 100% believed that what he was doing was totally legal.
El Nuevo Día, the largest circulating newspaper in Puerto Rico, published a story on March 10 with a photo showing Diaz standing in the pit of a cockfighting arena. Translated into English, the article quotes Diaz saying, '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.'
Ignorance of the law probably isn't gonna cut it, Mr. Diaz.
They may not enforce the law in Puerto Rico, but it's the law nonetheless.
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Cockfighting has a long and ... interesting history throughout the United States and is deeply tied not just to Puerto Rican culture but also Southern US culture.
Will Diaz get the Michael Vick treatment here, or will this all just brush under the rug during his months-long stint on the injured list?
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