NEW YORK -- Now it's New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal who are being denounced for animal fighting.
A video of Martinez and Marichal at a cockfight was posted this week on YouTube and it showed the two laughing before releasing the roosters. They took part as honorary "soltadores," the word used to describe the person who puts the animal to fight.
The fight takes place in their home country, the Dominican Republic, where cockfighting is legal and popular. It is banned throughout the United States.
Martinez told the Mets the cockfight occurred at least two years ago.
In the wake of Michael Vick's recent dogfighting case, Martinez and Marichal are the latest sports stars to draw criticism for animal fighting.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent letters to both pitchers Thursday, 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."
"I understand that people are upset, but this is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic," Martinez said in a statement issued by the Mets. "I was invited by my idol, Juan Marichal, to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant."
In the video, which was posted Tuesday, the animal released by Martinez appears to be killed. The fight takes place in the Coliseo Gallistico de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Cockfighting Coliseum) in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic's biggest cockfighting venue.
By early Thursday, the video was removed "due to terms of use violation."
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 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.
In his letter to Selig, PETA assistant director Dan Shannon mentioned the Vick case and wrote, "it seems that education on the importance of treating animals humanely is in order for Major League Baseball."
Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said Selig had not yet seen the letter.
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