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Cubs third baseman Aramis Remirez finally arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday, but when asked by reporters what he did on his winter vacation, he refused to answer. In fact, he wouldn't even allow for the reporter to finish asking the question.
Of course, we all know what he was up to back home this off-season. Last week, the New York Times profiled cockfighting and its popularity in a land known for its prolific export of major league ball players -- many of whom are connected to the bloodsport. Mentioning Ramirez' stature in the sport back home, the article noted that he was profiled in a Dominican cockfighting magazine, where he admitted, "When I’m in the Dominican Republic, I’m dedicated entirely to [his fighting cocks]." Supposedly, he has more than 1,000 birds.
What happens when a professional athlete is involved in a bloodsport that abuses man's best friend? He not only get suspended indefinitely by the league but also can expect to spend nearly two years doing hard time. But when a pro athlete participates in a slightly different sport involving animals you might have eaten for dinner? There's not quite the outrage -- yet.
OK, so cockfighting is legal in the Dominican Republic. Hell, participating is only a misdemeanor in fifteen U.S. states ... and it's not even a crime to watch cockfights in ten states.
But that doesn't make it right. And it doesn't excuse pro athletes from participating in animal abuse. There are certain responsibilities and behaviors that go along with being a pro athlete. Sure, Charles Barkley is famous for his "We are not role models" ad campaign for Nike, but the reality is that kids do look up to athletes more so than they do teachers, doctors or parents. So set a good example, dammit!
Will Major League Baseball do anything about players involved in cockfighting? Will the Cubs do anything to Ramirez? Have they even looked into whether players take part in cock fighting while in the U.S. during the season? Or will those in charge of the game continue to turn a blind eye to more widespread illegal activity occurring under their nose?
You'd think that, after the steroid scandal rocked baseball, the powers that be would be a bit more proactive in protecting the stature of the game. One more thing to turn fans away from the sport and MLB could become as irrelevant as the NHL.
Photos by AP Photo/Morry Gash and Wikipedia
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"OK, so cockfighting is legal in the Dominican Republic." and "Or will those in charge of the game continue to turn a blind eye to more widespread illegal activity occurring under their nose?"
Does not compute. Ramirez (and plenty of other Dominican players) aren't breaking any laws. I don't think we want or need Major League Baseball acting as the international cultural morality police.
And while cockfighting may seem barbaric to most Americans, I think it's a safe bet those Dominican roosters are treated 1000% better than your typical American egg hen.
Hi Benjy...interesting stance you have on the subject.
You said, "OK, so cockfighting is legal in the Dominican Republic" and "But that doesn't make it right".
I like to make sure the picture is clear before I sit in total judgement of you promoting American fascism to the rest of the world.
Also: Chicken's don't exactly have rights. If it isn't illegal (wherever, DR or elsewhere), then it is Ramirez's right to use his property however he so chooses, whether it be for entertainment or nurishment etc.
These supposed "animal scandals" are getting mighty old. When he gets caught with an underage boy, txt me.
Chicken's don't exactly have rights.
I think it's a safe bet those Dominican roosters are treated 1000% better than your typical American egg hen.( got any facts on that?)
Maybe you Cubs fans should watch less baseball and work at expanding your empathy as humans
What would be the point of traveling if the culture was the same everywhere. Cockfighting is legal in the DR and this has no affect on his playing of baseball so it is a non story.
I'm not surprised that The Cubs like to play with cocks in the off season.
I am not getting into some complex moral argument about why I should treat chickens humanely or have empathy for them.
In any case, if a society can eat it, a society can fight them. If this were a bullfight, no questions asked. Ever seen Madonna's "Take a Bow"?
There can be different standards between what's legal and what's appropriate given one's stature in society.
So what if cockfighting is legal in DR? What if some player owned a sweatshop that exploited child labor to make clothing in a foreign land without child labor or minimum wage laws? What if some player were from the Middle East and participated in an "honor" killing? Should MLB and American fans not do anything? Or should there be some sort of responsibility to realize that along with the reward of playing pro ball come certain obligations to conduct yourself in a positive way?
There can be different standards between what's legal and what's appropriate given one's stature in society.
So what if cockfighting is legal in DR? What if some player owned a sweatshop that exploited child labor to make clothing in a foreign land without child labor or minimum wage laws? What if some player were from the Middle East and participated in an "honor" killing? Should MLB and American fans not do anything? Or should there be some sort of responsibility to realize that along with the reward of playing pro ball come certain obligations to conduct yourself in a positive way?
We should not be meddling in the lives of foreign citizens. Michael Vick is a US citizen, and did something illegal. Aramis Ramirez did something in a foreign country, which is legal in that country, and thus he should not be punished.
In reverse, it is illegal in many Muslim countries for women to...well, to do damn near anything. Does that mean that Muslim countries should judge American women for what they do here? Well, they do, but we don't appreciate it, do we? Same thing.
hmm. this is tetchy. i just don't know about this. while i'm COMPLETELY against animal abuse of any kind, i don't think MLB has the right to have a say in what aramis does in his off time in his country, unless it involves shooting chicken growth hormone into his ass.
what if driving with a beer was legal in the DR? would you expect MLB to do something to him here? or let's say hookers were legal there? i don't know. this just seems a little strange, but i can't quite put my finger on it.
i suppose i could see MLB issuing some sort of blanket 'condemnation statement,' but seeing as they can't even quite keep their own american players in line with the whole steroid thing (and doesn't congress have a WAR to end or something?), i think it would be a little hypocritical.
One more thing to turn fans away from the sport and MLB could become as irrelevant as the NHL.
Irrelevant, sure, but at least the NHL isn't chock full of steroid-taking animal abusers and continuously under Congressional investigation.
Um, cock fighting is OK in some places in this country as you pointed out...which I don't think makes a material difference in this case but it seems to usurp your argument.
The difference between your argument and mine is that those scenarios involve people which have basic inalienable rights to earn a living wage and not be raped. Animals do not enjoy the same rights.
"You'd think that, after the steroid scandal rocked baseball, the powers that be would be a bit more proactive in protecting the stature of the game. One more thing to turn fans away from the sport and MLB could become as irrelevant as the NHL"
Your comparing cock fighting to the steroid scandal, AND suggesting that cockfigting may be further erroding the stature of the game?!?!
It's freaking cock fighting, I'm sure if it was pigeon fighting and a sox player, Benjy would be much more 'pro fighting' stance. This is not dogs, it is not homeless people, and it is not middle school girls.
Needless to say, I get a chuckle out of the whole thing. Try to imagine a barn with 1,000's of chickens in it, and Ramirez walking around throwing super growing agent feed laced with chemical hormones on the dirt floor. He loves his chickens- but he knows that one way or the other they are all going to die prematurely; either on a conveyor belt or on a dirt floor.
This is funny because I was out canvassing for Obama in Wisconsin last weekend, and after I got done with my spiel, a lady asked me, "Where does he stand on the animal enslavement issue?"
It was all I could do not to laugh. Sure, I don't like it when animals get mistreated, but I'd take her a lot more seriously if she didn't live in the "Dairy State" where the state colors are neon orange and hunter's camo.
And I'm sure any canidate would love to address that issue right after they get done dealing with the Iraq War, Health Care, the housing crisis, the looming recession, education, civil rights issues, meeting with the WNBA champs, and attending a bbq fundraiser in Texas.
Also, +1,000,000 points to Navin. Easily the funniest comment I've ever read on the boards.
Benjy, your "irrelevancy" line is BS and you know it. You're just repeating the sanctimonious crap that all sports columnists fall into when discussing baseball. Baseball won't become irrelevant. Attendance has actually increased in the last ten years. Is it as popular as football? No, but it does just fine. The steriod scandal isn't "turning fans away" from the game. In fact, it was bulked up steriod users that are part of the reason for baseball's resurgence. Are you or anyone else REALLY that horrified by the steroid scandal that you'll stop watching the game? Come on. By the way, how come you weren't disgusted by steroid abuse in the NFL? Shawn Merriman failed a test and made the Pro Bowl, but no one talked about the game being in a crisis.
And to make my post relevant to the topic at hand, apart from the numerous jokes to be made about cocks, Ramirez isn't breaking any American laws, so MLB can't punish him. Obviously from a PR perspective MLB would rather he not do this (or at least not publicly talk about how much he's into his cocks), but they can't mandate players adhere to regulations outside the law.
If chickens were as common as pet dogs in this country there'd be a bigger outcry about Aramis. That being said, I don't really care what he does in the DR. If God hadn't intended for people to engage in cockfighting He wouldn't have made it so easy for people to attach little razor blades to their legs.
all this chicken talk is making me hungry
There are two animals fighting to the death. I don't see how this is any different than dog fighting. Whether it is legal or not is not the question. There are things that are right or wrong no matter what society or culture a person is a part of. For example, honor killings are wrong. This is from the NY Times article:
"They can have their eyes pecked out by a more vigorous adversary. They can be impaled through the brain with one of the plastic spikes that are affixed to the foot of every fighting bird. Or, if a lung is punctured, the end may come in slow, raspy gasps."
if it's not a big deal, why is he refusing to talk about it? if you're proud of it, Aramis, sing its praises and teach the silly Americans about the beauty of intentionally torturing & killing animals for nothing other than your amusement.
All he has to lose is popularity, respect, & endorsements. But apparently he won't. Because there's nothing wrong with it. It's not against the law of the country he was in at the time. Where have I heard that before?
Aramis doesn't have that many endorsements, I don't think he's very popular outside of Chicago and we Cubs fans will forgive almost anything a player does as long as it gets us a World Series.
Hey every body when I'm not torturing small animals to death, I'm a roll model who plays for the Cubs, who has no problems torturing small animals to death. God Bless!
What's being lost in all this is:
Will he live up to his potential and show the hustle necessary to help the Cubs get off the century-long snide?
Short answer: No.
They are ANIMALS. NOT the same as an honor killing. Jesus.
@Spav1:
They are TASTY, DELICIOUS Animals.
Fixed that one for you.
This is not even news outside of Chicago. No one cares. There is, and will be, no outcry, no damaging of the game. This will blow over and be even less relevant to "the game" as John Rocker's racism. Anyone remember that?
Spav1, you either missed my point or decided to ignore it. Either way, it's not possible to have an intelligent conservation on this board so I blame myself for trying.
"They can have their eyes pecked out by a more vigorous adversary. They can be impaled through the brain with one of the plastic spikes that are affixed to the foot of every fighting bird. Or, if a lung is punctured, the end may come in slow, raspy gasps."-pscandygu
I do agree with you that its wrong, but you must be confusing this topic; we aren't talking about abortions in this discussion.
I guess I just dont think brutally murdering chickens is an immoral act. Sorry.
Aramis has always been very gentle, loving and tender when handling his cocks, just ask Zambrano.
Pffffft. Cockfighting is SO five minutes ago.
Horse fighting. Now that's where the REAL action is at.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=515508
@spookhates:
LOL. At the comment.
Hey Spav! You have all the makings of a serial killer
Spook:
I smoke around animals ALL THE TIME. I hope it gives them asthma.
I meant the COMMENT was hilarious as it was in itself, probs sarcastic. I have never even heard of horse fighting as sport and the pictures accompanying that article were graphic and terrible.
I was sarcastic about the horse thing. That shit is brutal.
I realize it seems hypocritical for me to say "Dog fighting and Horse fighting, bad. Cock fighting and the UFC, good." But I could care less.
Chickens are just newer, more evolved versions of dinosaurs, and if they devolved just a little bit, you have T-Rex fighting. The coolest animal blood sport EVER.
So there...
Something told me that the word cock would bring on a bunch of comments.
Why in the hell are we discussing chickens?
I originaly checked this out because I saw a player with a tight crotch and then the word cock in the same vicinity.