Pedro: I Was at Cockfight as Spectator

Feb. 8, 2007 — -- New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez emphasized Thursday that he did nothing illegal by attending a cockfight with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in the Dominican Republic.

A video of Martinez and Marichal was posted Tuesday on YouTube and later pulled. The Mets said Thursday in a statement that the video was shot two years ago.

Cockfighting is legal and popular in the Dominican Republic.

"I understand that people are upset, but that is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic," Martinez said in a statement Thursday. "I was invited by my idol, Juan Marichal, to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant."

But Martinez and Marichal were characterized in an Associated Press story as participating in the cockfight as honorary "soltadores," the word used to describe the person who puts the animal to fight. The animal released by Martinez appears to be killed on the video, according to the AP report.

The fight took place in the Coliseo Gallistico de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Cockfighting Coliseum), the Dominican Republic's biggest cockfighting venue.

By early Thursday, the video was removed from YouTube "due to terms of use violation."

"We do not condone any behavior that involves cruelty to animals," the Mets said in a statement Thursday. "We understand, however, that in many other countries, activities such as bullfighting and cockfighting are both legal and part of the culture."

On Thursday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent letters to both pitchers, calling on them to publicly apologize. The Humane Society of the United States said "Major League Baseball should join us in condemning Martinez and Marichal for their shameful example."

PETA also sent a letter to baseball commissioner Bud Selig urging all major league players and staff to take its animal sensitivity training course -- the same one Michael Vick attended after pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges in August.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback received a 23-month jail sentence. The NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay.