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Dodgers $69 million star Edwin Diaz linked to illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico

Nypost · · 343 words · By Ryan Kostecka
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/15/sports/dodgers-star-edwin-diaz-tied-to-cockfightin…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified 1
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help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz has been linked to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico, according to a report from USA Today.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that USA Today reported a link between Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz and an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Edwin Orlando Díaz Laboy (born March 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seatt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Díaz
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Dodgers
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Narco" is a song by Dutch DJ/production duo Blasterjaxx and Australian DJ/producer Timmy Trumpet, released as a single in 2017. The song became widely popular for being the walk-out song for Edwin Dí…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco_(song)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The outlet detailed multiple social media advertisements from a cockfighting club in Díaz’s native Puerto Rico that featured Diaz’s image, including several wearing a Dodgers jersey”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the USA Today report detailed social media posts and promotional materials featuring Díaz, including images in a Dodgers jersey.
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web search NEUTRAL — Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz is linked to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico through social media posts and promotional materials, a USA Today investigation reports.
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/edwin-diaz-reportedly…
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web search NEUTRAL — They are not the only prominent Puerto Rican athletes apparently involved in cockfighting. Edwin Diaz, a three-time All-Star pitcher now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is linked to cockfighting events …
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2026/05/14…
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web search NEUTRAL — A Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and two of the top jockeys in horse racing were allegedly linked to illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico through social media posts, according to reporting from USA Today.
https://dnyuz.com/2026/05/14/dodgers-pitcher-horse-racing-jo…
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“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.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that El Nuevo Día published an article on March 10 featuring a photo of Díaz in a cockfighting pit during the World Baseball Classic period.
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web search NEUTRAL — An article in El Nuevo Día published March 10 includes a photo showing Diaz standing in the pit of a cockfighting arena. According to the article, Diaz was attending a multi-fight tournament during wh…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2026/05/14…
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web search NEUTRAL — On March 10, Puerto Rico's largest newspaper, El Nuevo Día, published a separate story including a photo of Diaz standing inside a cockfighting pit.
https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-edw…
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web search NEUTRAL — Edwin Diaz of Team Puerto Rico celebrates a strikeout during a 5-2 win against Team Dominican Republic in their World Baseball Classic Pool D game at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla., on March 15, 2023.
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/edwin-diaz-reportedly…
verified
“it was banned there when the United States federal government outlawed the practice in all of its territories in 2019.”
VERIFIED
Web search results and legal references confirm that the US federal government outlawed cockfighting in all territories, including Puerto Rico, in 2019.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr., along with MLB pitcher Edwin Diaz, are linked to illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico through social media posts. Cockfighting is a federal offense in all U.S. st…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2026/05/14…
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web search NEUTRAL — fighting prohibition to the territories, including Puerto Rico. Id. at 206. Congress held no public hearings, to boot. The AWA amendments passed notwithstanding the opposition of all non-voting repres…
https://institutodelibertadeconomica.org/wp-content/uploads/…
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web search NEUTRAL — Puerto Rican lawmakers say they will approve a law to keep alive the400-year-old tradition of cockfighting on the island territory, in defiance of a federal ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3TD2RqTrL4
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“Puerto Rican politicians initially tried to defy the ban by adopting carve-outs in their own local laws, PBS reported in 2019.”
CORROBORATED
Reports from CNN and NPR confirm that Puerto Rican politicians and Governor Wanda Vázquez attempted to defy the federal ban through local legislation.
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web search NEUTRAL — A federal ban that was to take effect Friday marked the death knell for the US commonwealth’s lucrative cockfighting industry until Gov. Wanda Vazquez this week signed a bill keeping the controversial…
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/19/us/puerto-rico-cockfighting-b…
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web search NEUTRAL — The federal effort to eradicate cockfighting on the island will be a tall order. Many Puerto Ricans, including some elected officials, have vowed to defy the ban, calling it an attack on Puerto Rican …
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/10/23/452896280…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cockfighting has existed in Puerto Rico for some 400 years, since Spanish colonists brought the practice to the island. When Puerto Rico became part of the United States, cockfighting was outlawed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/puerto-rico-cockfighti…
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“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”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the USA Today story is mentioned as the source of this claim, the provided evidence snippets for this specific claim do not provide independent corroboration of the lawsuits filed by the specific club tied to Díaz, though they discuss general resistance to the ban.
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web search NEUTRAL — Puerto Rico resists federal ban on cockfighting. In the blood sport of cockfighting, roosters are bred for aggression, placed in a small ring and encouraged to fight to the death, according to the Ame…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2026/05/14…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cockfighting is a centuries-old tradition in Puerto Rico, dating to the early days of the Spanish colony. The island is just a hundred miles long but has nearly 80 cockfighting clubs, which are regula…
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/14/676652923/congress-moves-to-b…
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web search NEUTRAL — An article in USA Today suggests that the Ortiz brothers, who finished first and second in the Kentucky Derby, have ties to cockfighting.
https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/usa-today-alleges-more…
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“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.””
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that El Nuevo Día quoted Díaz describing cockfighting as a childhood pastime and claiming it was legal in Puerto Rico.
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web search NEUTRAL — Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainme…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockfighting
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web search NEUTRAL — On March 10, Puerto Rico's largest newspaper, El Nuevo Día, published a separate story including a photo of Diaz standing inside a cockfighting pit. The article quoted Diaz describing the activity as …
https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-edw…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cockfighting is not actually legal in Puerto Rico as a federal ban on cockfighting went into effect in all 50 U.S. states and U.S. territories back in 2019. Additionally, the maximum penalty for parti…
https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/report_dodgers_edwin…
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“Díaz –– a three-time All-Star closer who the Dodgers signed for $69 million this offseason”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including ESPN and Flashscore, confirm the Dodgers signed three-time All-Star Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract.
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web search NEUTRAL — Díaz, the top free-agent reliever on the market, signed a five-year, $102 million (approximately 150.7 billion Korean won) extension with the Mets during the 2023 season. This was the highest contract…
https://www.chosun.com/english/sports-en/2025/12/13/JNJM7GRK…
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web search NEUTRAL — "Closer Edwin Díaz's deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers is for three years and $69 million, sources tell ESPN. The Dodgers, who were targeting bullpen help this winter, got the best closer on the marke…
https://www.si.com/mlb/bluejays/onsi/news/blue-jays-miss-out…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Los Angeles Dodgers signed All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69 million deal on Tuesday. His $23 million annual salary is the most for a closer in MLB history.
https://www.flashscore.dk/news/edwin-diaz-signs-record-setti…
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“is currently out injured after undergoing an elbow procedure last week”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding a recent elbow procedure or current injury status for Edwin Díaz.
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“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.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that USA Today linked jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. to cockfighting in Puerto Rico alongside Edwin Díaz.
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“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”
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“as well as former MLB catcher Martín Maldonado.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.