New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez is at the losing end of a publicity war after a video of his cockfighting was posted on YouTube.

The said footage of animal cruelty was immediately removed from YouTube but the damage has already been done. The video showed Martinez's cockfighting bout in a Dominican Republic cockpit with former baseball great Juan Marichal ,who started his pro baseball career with the San Francisco Giants. Both Martinez and Marichal are from the Dominican Republic, a country whose cockfighting traditions run deep. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has roundly criticized Martinez for his continued patronage of this dated form of animal bloodsport, the tradition of which is based on ignorance.

<em>Reference:www.postchronicle.com </em>