David Ortiz hasn’t had an easy post-playing career. Ortiz, who shone as a player with the Minnesota Twins (1997-2002) and Boston Red Sox (2003-2016) before pivoting into a studio carer with Fox, nearly lost his life following a shooting in his native Dominican Republic over four years ago.
Now, the Red Sox legend and full-time Fox Studio analyst is alleging that a hacker is trying to extort him and make some of his personal details public. According to Ortiz, a hacker was able to obtain details about his personal life through a cellphone that he had been in possession of for nearly two decades but is one he hasn’t used recently.
Ortiz publicly shared in a video on Instagram Wednesday that he was being extorted. Ortiz’s message has been translated from Spanish to English by WCVB, which you can read below:
“I’m not making this video just because of the fear of what could come out. I’m also doing it to give you guys, my people, the heads up not to involve yourselves with this situation because [law enforcement agencies] are already taking action on these actions, which are completely illegal,” Ortiz said in the Instagram video.
The FBI, DEA, Dominican Republic’s intelligence department and police are investigating the extortion case. Ortiz says that the extortionist is aware that the authorities are closely monitoring them.
According to WCVB, Ortiz also maintains that the hacker who is extorting him is also the same person who gained access to his bank accounts about six months ago and made fraudulent charges.
Ortiz is expected to start postseason duties on MLB on Fox in the coming months, so hopefully, law enforcement can resolve this quickly and he can put this unfortunate incident behind him.
[WCVB]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.