Edwin Diaz cockfighting ties spur calls for discipline of MLB player, jockeys

Animal welfare groups are calling for action against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz and top horse racing jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. for their involvement in illegal cockfighting detailed in a story by USA TODAY Sports . Photos and video found on social media showed the athletes in the pit at cockfighting arenas in Puerto Rico and on social media posts promoting cockfights.

Diaz, who is a three-time MLB All Star, and the Ortiz brothers, who finished 1-2 in the Kentucky Derby on May 2, all are from Puerto Rico. A federal ban prohibits cockfighting in all 50 states and U. S.

territories, including Puerto Rico. The Ortiz brothers are scheduled to ride in the Preakness Stakes , the second leg of the Triple Crown, on May 16. Kathy Guillermo, a senior vice president with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA , said they should be banned from the race.

"Horse racing must stop operating in a vacuum – its players aren’t above federal law," Guillermo said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. "Right now, Irad Ortiz and Jose Ortiz should be banned from tomorrow’s Preakness day races. All the states that license the Ortiz brothers should immediately suspend the jockeys' licenses and launch serious investigations into their involvement in cockfighting.