Edwin Diaz Participated In Illegal Cockfighting In Puerto Rico

"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.""

"El Nuevo Día, the largest circulating newspaper in Puerto Rico, published a story 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.""

"According to Nuevo Día, the Díaz family entered four roosters into the event. Another Puerto Rican newspaper, Primera Hora, reported in 2018 that Díaz fought five roosters in San Juan, but it was still legal at that time."

"There is a federal ban in the United States, and that took effect in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, in 2019. Still, cockfighting is a significant part of the culture in Puerto Rico and has continued with minimal enforcement on the island, while the government pushed back against the U.S. ban on the practice."

Edwin Díaz, a closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been linked to cockfighting events in Puerto Rico through photos found on social media. Díaz appears in a Dodgers uniform in posts dated Feb. 2 and Feb. 4 that advertise cockfighting tournaments. One translated advertisement invites enthusiasts to a special match and a tribute to Edwin “Sugar” Díaz. Díaz has also been shown in a cockfighting arena in coverage from Puerto Rico, where he described cockfighting as a pastime followed since childhood and said it was legal in Puerto Rico. Reports also describe the Díaz family entering roosters and earlier participation in San Juan. A federal ban in the United States took effect in Puerto Rico in 2019, while enforcement has been limited and the government has pushed back against the ban.

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