When Boston Globe columnist took a dig at David Ortiz with damaging PED stereotypes

In 2009, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy targeted Boston Red Sox veteran, David Ortiz, suggesting his Dominican nationality made him a likely candidate for using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

It was a highly sensitive topic given the history of racial bias and stereotypes associated with baseball players of Latino descent.

Barging into the locker room, Shaughnessy referred to Ortiz and said with a straight face:

“You’re from the Dominican. You’re older. You fit the profile of a steroid user. Don’t you think you’re a prime suspect?”

Ortiz's name became associated with PEDs when The New York Times reported in 2009 he had tested positive for a banned substance. This was from a confidential survey conducted by MLB in 2003 to determine the prevalence of steroid use in baseball, but the results were supposed to remain anonymous.

Following the revelation, Ortiz held a press conference and claimed he had no knowledge of testing positive for any banned substance. He expressed surprise and confusion about the test results, suggesting he might have unknowingly taken a tainted supplement.

David Ortiz adamantly denied ever using steroids intentionally and maintained his innocence. At a Yankee Stadium press conference in August 2009, he said:

"I definitely was a little bit careless back in those days when I was buying supplements and vitamins over the counter — legal supplements, legal vitamins over the counter — but I never buy steroids or used steroids"

Throughout the remainder of his career, Ortiz never failed a drug test and consistently denied using PEDs intentionally. He went on to achieve numerous accolades, including four more All-Star selections, one World Series championships with the Red Sox (2013) and became the World Series MVP in 2013.

David Ortiz clapped back at Dan Shaughnessy in a Players' Tribune write-up

Boston Red Sox icon, David Ortiz.

Five years after the initial controversy, former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz took to The Players' Tribune to set the record straight about his encounter with Dan Shaughnessy in the team's locker room.

Ortiz narrated:

In 2013, I came off the DL and started hot. My first 20 games I was hitting like .400. And the reporter with the red jheri curl from the Boston Globe comes into the locker room says, “You’re from the Dominican. You’re older. You fit the profile of a steroid user. Don’t you think you’re a prime suspect?”

"He’s saying this with a straight face. I had taken like 70 at-bats. Anybody can get hot and hit .400 with 70 at-bats. I was stunned. I’m like, I’m Dominican? I fit the profile? Are you kidding me?

Revealing his response after such an allegation, he said:

"I wanted to kill this guy. But you can’t react. That’s what they want. They want you to get angry so they can bury you. So I just smiled at him and asked for his address."

On being asked by the writer why Big Papi wanted his address, he said:

“Because I just got tested two days ago. I’ll mail you the f****ing results.”

David Ortiz retired from MLB in 2016.

Six years later in July 2022, he secured his place in the prestigious MLB Hall of Fame. This extraordinary achievement marked his induction as the 58th player ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame on his very first Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) ballot.