USA Today Links Dodgers' Edwin Diaz to Illegal Cockfighting Ring in $102 Million Scandal
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 15
USA Today Links Dodgers' Edwin Diaz to Illegal Cockfighting Ring in $102 Million Scandal
6 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 15
$102 million Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz was tied by a USA Today investigation to an illegal cockfighting ring in Puerto Rico, with promotional materials and social media posts placing him at events.
March 2026 comments to El Nuevo Día deepened the scrutiny: Diaz said his family had long followed cockfighting and had entered four roosters in a recent tournament.
Dodgers imagery raised the stakes because Diaz reportedly appeared in tournament graphics wearing his official team uniform, even though a federal ban on cockfighting took effect in 2019 and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2021.
No criminal charges have been filed, but MLB's personal conduct policy could still expose Diaz to league discipline regardless of any legal outcome.
The investigation also named jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr., suggesting the controversy could widen beyond baseball as U.S. authorities and sports leagues face pressure to respond.
Will a cockfighting scandal void Edwin Diaz's $69 million Dodgers contract and derail his MLB career?
Why might an MLB star face ruin for cockfighting while implicated jockeys in the same scandal continue to race?